A Very Mayan Story
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: This is it: Jane is finally about to enjoy her first vacations since what seems like an eternity. Hidden Beach, by the Riviera Maya, looks like the perfect resort for cocktails by the pool and a well-needed rest in the sun with Maura. A classic Mexican sp
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: I solved my OpenOffice issues (I couldn't open any document) so here comes a brand new story, with daily updates; reviews more than appreciated.**_

 **Chapter One**

"Don't be worried, miss. You won't need all these clothes once you make it to _Hidden Beach_."

The flight attendant's remark caused Jane to laugh. Of course, she wouldn't need the heavy winter coat she was still wearing: she was going to Mexico, after all. To the _Riviera Maya_ , to be more exact. This fabulous place where the sun shone 785 days a year and where a cocktail was cheaper than a hotdog in the USA.

She unbuttoned the aforesaid coat and took it off before fighting against the tiny baggage holder above the row of seats. This plane was definitely going down South: it was made for bikinis, there was no room whatsoever for voluminous pieces of clothing like Bostonian winter coats.

'Dammit. Will you..." A very last punch in the coat solved the issue. She would leave the plane with a very rumpled piece of clothing after this five-hour flight but she couldn't care less about it. Why? Because she wouldn't need her coat for the upcoming two weeks. "Alright."

Time to sit down. Or so.

"Maura, what on earth?" Jane grabbed the book on top of the pile that had just made an impromptu contact with her buttocks and stared at her friend in disbelief. "Have you robbed the Public Library again?"

"I would never do such a thing." Maura's voice broke in shy anger. Jane's remark had offended her. A lot. She took her large sunglasses off then picked one of the books she had previously dropped on her friend's seat next to hers. "You should start with this one. It is a formidable essay about the Mayan agriculture; really indispensable if you want to understand the quality of..."

Jane rolled her eyes. She rushed to sit down as she spotted a flight attendant walking down the aisle towards them. She threw the dozen of books on her friend's lap then proceeded to turn her individual screen on. The flight company offered over 65 movies, concerts, tv shows and documentaries: perfect program for the next hours she would spend aboard.

"I'm on vacation, Maur-ito. This means I'll skip the sociological essays and immerge myself instead in this fantastic activity called binge watching."

A thin line showed on Maura's forehead. She obviously not only disapproved Jane's upcoming hobbies but the nickname her friend had given her as well. Maur-ito? Really? She wasn't the Irish version of a South American cocktail.

"I had just..." Maura bit her lower lip as her voice broke. Alright. She knew that she couldn't be too demanding, especially given the circumstances. She sighed in abdication then fasten her seatbelt. "Never mind. Enjoy... Whatever you find to be enjoyable."

Progress. They were in progress.

The truth was that she would have burst out laughing if someone had told her two weeks earlier that Jane would agree on going to Mexico for these paid vacations Lieutenant Cavanaugh didn't know what to do of anymore. Jane had accumulated way too many days without ever taking any off. The BPD administration was going crazy and feared that it would end up looking suspicious. In a word: workaholic Jane was in a dead-end path and she had to go away for a while.

This was when Susie Chang had entered the scene but it had taken superhuman efforts from everyone to convince Jane that _Hidden Beach Resort_ was the place to be.

Of course, the mention of the _Riviera Maya_ had piqued her curiosity but the victory had only been total once the senior criminalist had announced that she could get them the bedroom presidential beachfront villa for free. Her uncle was the manager of the resort and he agreed on welcoming Jane and Maura as special guests for two weeks.

Two full weeks of sun, endless cocktails and transparent water by a white-sand beach.

This wasn't the kind of offer one could turn down, even a workaholic like Jane. The timid nod she had given at first had slowly turned in great enthusiasm as the days had passed by and she was now more than ready to enjoy her time near _Playa del Carmen_ down South Cancún.

The only thing she had checked was the weather forecast for she couldn't care less about the rest. The _Riviera Maya_ was a very touristic and popular destination: it was probably all about swim-up bars and palm trees. A classic yet exotic vacation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Amanda Smith and I'm your chief flight attendant. On behalf of Captain Daniel Morris and the entire crew, welcome aboard JetBlue Airlines flight LO901, non-stop service from Boston-Logan International, USA to Cancún International Airport, Mexico..."

Maura took a deep breath and relaxed against the back of her seat. There they were. At last. She cast a glance at Jane before focusing on the tarmac by the small window next to her seat. The sky was gray, snow was coming.

"Thank you."

Jane's whisper barely reached Maura as the flight attendant kept on talking through her microphone. Perhaps these two words were even a bit stupid but Jane had nonetheless felt the urge to say them out loud.

She could barely remember the last time she had left Boston for so long, on vacation purposes. Maura was also very dedicated to her demanding job but she didn't have any issue to take distance with it when needed; unlike her.

The truth was that Jane was exhausted, physically and mentally: _Hidden Beach Resort_ was a blessing and she was glad to see that Maura had accepted to come with her.

" _De nada, cariño_.*"

Maura's wink echoed a complete absence of reaction from Jane. Alright, not really. After what looked like endless seconds of hesitation, Jane blinked then shook her head to let her friend understand that she hadn't got a word from what Maura had just said.

Maura's loud gasp caused a few passengers to turn to look at them.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli." Maura marked a pause for a more dramatic effect. She was in a good mood which meant that she would do anything to tease her friend. Besides, she knew how much Jane secretly liked it too. "I cannot believe that you have boarded a flight for Mexico without revising your Spanish first. This is _muy mal, chica_.*"

Feeling she had been charged with a brand new mission, Maura leaned over to turn Jane's individual screen off. She barely noticed the gasp of indignation that came from her friend.

"Let's start... By the start." Maura laughed lightly. "Isn't it funny? _Let's start by the start_. Hahaha!" No reaction from her student-to-be. She cleared her voice. "Anyway, there are three groups of verbs in Spanish..."

Jane closed her eyes as the plane began to head towards the takeoff area. Even a paper day at work was more appealing than a Spanish intensive class right now.

…

 _Hidden Beach Resort_. This was exactly the kind of place the Isles usually tried to avoid but after a quick stop by the lobby, Maura had to admit that the interior design was quite lovely and the one-bedroom presidential beachfront villa faithful to the online pictures her assistant had showed her. It was a high-standard resort, the situation could be a lot worse.

"Excuse me... There's only one bed?"

Jane's rather genuine question caused the employee to frown and stop the small tour of the suite. Jane and Maura didn't mind sharing a bed – it had already happened in the past anyway – but some more privacy and comfort wouldn't do harm for the next two weeks.

"What for?" The employee squinted her eyes and stared at Jane and Maura with suspicion. 'You're a couple, right? Because this place is for couples-only; adults-only. If you're not a couple then you can't stay here."

Maura raised an eyebrow. What kind of place only welcomed couples? Susie had told them that children weren't allowed at the resort but she hadn't said a thing about the relationship status of vacationers.

"Oh. Ahem... I... Just..." Jane started stuttering. She cast a glance at the suite: there was no way she wouldn't enjoy it. Not now. Not after a flight and an interminable shuttle drive with a dozen of other people, not after weeks of doubts. She had made it to _Hidden Beach Resort_ to enjoy whatever it had to offer. "Yeah, of course we are." She would have married Maura in the minute if she had had to; the hot tub on the terrace was the kind of opportunity she couldn't miss. "It's just she's an early bird and I'm not but that's okay. That's fine. Never mind..."

The answer seemed to satisfy and reassure the employee who turned around then left the suite quietly.

Maura sat on the bed and took her shoes off. First, she would unpack. Then she would have a long and warm shower. Perhaps she would even wash her hair, she knew how badly it reacted to the sea breeze if she wasn't careful enough.

The reception to welcome new vacationers was held at 6pm which meant she and Jane still had two hours for themselves before going to the private beach of the resort and enjoy a homemade cocktail. It was just the perfect amount of ti-...

"Maura?"

The call of her name took her out of her scheduling daydream. She stood up then without a word walked barefoot to the terrace where Jane was standing. The view from the villa top floor was quite nice: the vegetation was luxurious and they could even catch a glimpse of the Caribbean Sea through the palm trees.

"Yes?" Maura noticed the uncertainty in her friend's eyes immediately. She frowned, suddenly worried. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"There are people there."

Maura shrugged but held back a snort. What was wrong with Jane? Her remark made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was ridiculous at its best.

"Of course, there are people by the swimming-pool, Jane. They didn't privatize the entire resort for us."

"I know that, idiot! But did they privatize their clothes?" Jane dared another quick glance at the swimming-pool, just to make sure that she hadn't suffered from some USA-Mexico kind of hallucination. "... 'Cause none of them's wearin' any right now."

And then it hit her like a ton of bricks; like a ton of Mayan bricks.

"CHANG!"

Jane's voice echoed in the distance, somewhere behind the palm trees; down to the Caribbean Sea.

...

 _De nada, cariño: you're welcome, honey_

 _Muy mal, chica: very bad, girl_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: Thank you/merci/muchas gracias for all your reviews, I hope you'll enjoy this story and that it'll bring you some sun.**_

 **Chapter Two**

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god..."

Maura delicately set the hotel booklet down on the coffee table of the suite. She landed timid eyes on Jane who was now pacing the main room like a fury repeating over and over a mantra that clearly highlighted her current state of panic.

The situation was unexpected, Maura couldn't but admit it. It hadn't crossed her mind that Susie Chang could send them to a nudist resort without letting them know about it before. Maura did know that her assistant was keen on this kind of vacations but at no moment had she tried to convince anyone to join her in one of her clothes-free adventures.

"Jane." Maura ran her tongue over her lips. The moment was delicate, she had to choose her words as wisely as she could. Though she would only need some more vocabulary if Jane actually stopped pacing the room once and for all. "J-... JANE!" Good, now she had Jane's attention. "It isn't as bad as it seems..."

Of course, Maura's timid attempt to calm Jane down miserably failed. Jane snorted, shook her head then crossed her arms against her chest. Her move looked almost self-protective. Her lips were pursed though: she was angry.

"Really, Maura? Really? There are people out there walking naked. They're swimming in the pool: naked. They're sitting on the bar stools: naked. Naked! Naked! Naked! I don't know for you but I didn't fly to Mexico for an anatomy project!"

"Nudist people are not voyeuristic. As a matter of fact, they are not judgemental. The whole philosophy of their way of life is based on..."

Jane snorted anew which caused Maura to wince. Convincing her rather prudish friend that everything was fine wouldn't be easy. Chances were that it would even turn into the biggest challenge Maura would ever have to face in her life.

She briefly closed her eyes then took a deep breath.

"Listen to me, here's what we're going to do: at 6pm we attend the reception on the beach..." Maura raised her index finger as Jane snorted again. "According to the hotel rules I have found in this booklet, vacationers are supposed to get dressed by 5.45pm every day so nudity isn't going to be an issue that you will have to face today. Or at least not again."

"And then? They'll be back to celebrating mother nature tomorrow morning!" Jane suddenly realized that she had started biting her nails. Great. Really. It had taken her months to get rid of this bad habit but five minutes in Mexico and she was back to chewing on her thumb: small wonder why she never wanted to go on vacations. "You won't get me naked, Maura. Nope... That, I won't do it. Sorry. This shit ain't for me."

Maura grabbed back the booklet then opened it to show the rules to Jane. Her argumentation was poor but then she had had no time to prepare anything. She had to improvise and this was something that she highly despised.

"It says 'clothing optional'. That means you can actually wear... Something. You don't have to be naked if you don't want to... Even if it is said to be extremely liberating."

Alright. Bad choice of words. By the face Jane made, Maura realized that she should have been a lot more careful: her last remark was not what her friend needed to hear right now.

"But even if I'm _not_ naked, the others will be! I don't want male strangers to... You know, throw their stuff to my face."

The allusion to one specific gender caused Maura's lips to curl up in a smile. At least Jane didn't seem to have an issue with naked women. It was a start, a great start.

"Well... If it can comfort you, I'm a bit taken aback by the whole thing too. I have never stayed at a nudist resort before. Take it as an experience and if you want to avoid looking... Down... Then make sure to remain faithful to an invisible line straight in front of you. Just look... Just look straight in front of you: then you'll only see people's faces."

This had to be the dumbest advice Maura had ever given someone but, curiously enough, it seemed to actually work. Jane's features softened a bit as she seemed to start pondering the idea.

The _Riviera Maya_ was a very developed touristic complex, besides. If things really went wront at _Hidden Beach_ , they still could try to find another hotel to stay at. It simply wouldn't be as luxurious as the bedroom presidential suite beachfront villa they now had.

Maura straightened in pride: now this was good argumentation.

"But what if... What if they ask us to take our clothes off? I've seen documentaries on tv and very often nudist people say they feel offended by others who show up at their place and don't respect the rules. I don't want to be impolite... Besides... Gosh, I'd almost forgotten about that: it's a couples-only resort. You know what that means, right? We're supposed to be a nudist couple, Maura!" Jane's usually hoarse voice was now a dangerously high-pitched one: that was the ultimate proof of a pending panic attack. "A nudist couple!"

The couple thing didn't bother her as much as she pretended it to. They had already faked it when Giovanni was around. Besides, nobody at the hotel was going to ask them to give into public display of affection and since she hadn't planned on meeting Mr. Right in Mexico, Jane didn't mind being mistaken for a lesbian.

Or a bisexual woman in a relationship with another woman.

Whatever.

"We don't have to take part in the late-afternoon games." Maura tried to avoid looking at the booklet. Of course, she had read about this but she also assumed that Jane needed to be comforted. Her stress level was already way too high to let her know about the different activities the resort offered them. "We can just..."

"Games? What games?" Jane rushed to the booklet with such violence that she almost tore the piece of paper apart. "Oh you gotta be kiddin' me!" She looked up at the ceiling. "Why? Why does it have to happen to me? Why? What have I done to you, God? Why?"

Without a word, Maura walked to the mini-bar and opened a bottle of rum before taking a long sip straight out of the miniature flask: something told her that she would need a lot more than just one drink tonight.

...

As they passed the second couple on their way to the beach, Maura held back a sigh of relief: at least vacationers respected the hotel rules. Everyone was wearing clothes again.

She cast a glance at Jane who was quietly walking by her side: she had never looked so nervous in her life. Maura grabbed her friend's forearm to softly rub it in a gesture of support.

It was fine. Everything was fine. The resort was gorgeous, their suite was perfect and they were about to enjoy a cocktail on the beach as the sun would set down in a thousand nuances of orange over the Caribbean Sea. This was luck and they had to embrace it.

Against all expectations, unpacking had calmed Jane down a bit. She had even called her mother and had sounded very enthusiastic. She had simply skipped the nudist part. There was no way she would ever share this piece of information with anyone. It was embarrassing, awfully embarrassing.

She would simply remain quiet then kill Chang as soon as their return flight would hit the tarmac of Boston.

Easy.

"Did you enjoy the shower?" A basic conversation for a safe evening: this was a trick Maura had learned a long time ago. "They have a lovely spa, we should book a massage session tomorrow. What do you think? There is nothing like a relaxing massage to celebrate the start of your vacations."

If the spa was as nice as the zillion options their shower had, Jane was ready to buy a season ticket to it. It was the first time she actually stayed at a five-star hotel. The service was really high standard. It was almost intimidating for someone who had grown in a middle-class neighborhood.

"Why not... We'll see."

After the umpteenth curve on the main path, the white-sand beach finally appeared in front of their eyes. Music was coming from their right, from a large bar where a dozen of people were casually chatting.

" _¡_ _Hola, chicas!_ *" A young man in his late twenties walked towards them with a couple of drinks in his hands. He held out both glasses to Maura and Jane. "Welcome to _Hidden Beach_. Here's our homemade cocktail. Please grab a tag, write your name on it then stick it to your tank top."

A tag? Jane winced in mental pain. She hadn't signed for another high-school reunion. What was that again? Of course, Maura's reaction couldn't be more different than hers. She had already rushed to the wicker basket and was now writing her name on a tag. Her eyes were glimmering of delight: she looked ecstatic.

"What an excellent idea to get to know each other better, don't you think so?" Maura grabbed another tag and wrote her friend's name on it. "I like a lot their sense of organization. I will definitely mention it on _Tripadvisor_."

"Yeah..." Jane took a long sip of her drink and slightly choked on it: she had no idea what kind of alcohol was in their cocktail but it was one strong damn thing. "Now I understand better why the reception's held after 5.45pm. You can't stick a tag right on your skin, can you?"

Maura chose to remain silent. She simply held out the tag to her friend, settled hers then turned around to look at the ribbon of blue that spread in front of her eyes.

She had gone to the Caribbeans more times than she could remember but a first night in this part of the world still looked magical to her eyes. It worked every single time.

"I'm really glad to live this with you." She pointed out the sea as Jane walked to her. A delicate smile was lighting up her features. "It is beautiful, isn't it? And so peaceful..."

If it weren't for the heady salsa music that was coming from the bar and the brouhaha of the conversations, of course.

Jane nodded. Maura was right. Their arrival hadn't gone as planned, she hadn't expected to face such source of stress so early on, but the truth was that the sunset she was now watching was worth everything. Absolutely everything.

"Jane?! Jane Rizzoli?!"

Jane froze and subconsciously tightened her grip on her drink as a feminine voice called her name in her back. She held back a moan of despair. These Mexican vacations had to be a joke. A very cheap one.

...

 _Hola, chicas: hi, girls_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, I'm glad to see that you like the story so far.**_

 **Chapter Three**

Jane had two options: she either turned around to say hello to a ghost from her past or she swam her way back to Boston. After all, she was standing barely two feet away from the sea, it was a possibility she didn't have to immediately discard.

Sadly it was without counting on Maura.

"Jane..." Maura discreetly leaned over to whisper into her friend's ear after grabbing her forearm rather tightly. "Someone is talking to you."

No kidding.

"Oh, I know. I haven't turned deaf somewhere between Massachusetts and Cancún!" Hoping that her surprising interlocutor hadn't overheard her remark, Jane finally turned around and forced a bright smile. "Marion! What a surprise..."

A bad one but a surprise nonetheless.

Jane went for a handshake before realizing that it would seem a bit too formal. They hadn't seen each other for over fifteen years but it didn't change the fact that they had graduated from the Academy together.

They weren't complete strangers.

"I can't believe you're here..." The auburn woman landed confused green eyes on Maura. "With your... Wife? So Charlie didn't throw you off completely, after all."

Of course, Marion's wink was genuinely nice but it only caused Jane to wish a tsunami would take her far; very far. And now. Did they really have to talk about Charlie? After all these years? In front of Maura?

"Partner. I am actually Jane's partner." Maura held out her hand. She hadn't lied per se: she and Jane were partners, just not of the romantic kind. "I'm Maura, Maura Isles. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Marion shook Maura's hand before taking her in her arms for a warm hug. They were on vacations, after all. At a nudist resort, besides. A friendly move was appropriate. She focused back on Jane almost immediately. "Are you still in Boston? My husband and I moved to South California last year after a decade spent in Chicago. He's the man out there..." Marion pointed out a man in his forties who was talking to a staff member. "An ex-police officer. He's now a librarian."

Jane quickly looked at the aforesaid man. It was one strange shift in a professional career. She didn't know many cops who ended up among books and silence.

"Cool. I mean, congratulations." Jane ran a hand through her hair and realized a bit late that she had tied it up in a ponytail. She winced as her fingers got stuck in the hair band. "And yes: I'm now a BPD homicide detective." She turned to Maura. "Marion and I were classmates at the Academy. Maura... Maura's a medical examiner."

Jane politely smiled at Marion.

They had never been what one would call friends but at least they had always respected each other. If it weren't for the fact they were staying at a nudist resort, Jane would have been amused by the current situation.

But now Marion was going to think that she and Maura were the typical hippie lesbian couple keen on naturism. It was embarrassing.

And not true at all.

The touch made her jump. She looked down at her hand without saying a word. Maura's fingers had slid along her palm before tightening a soft embrace on Jane's; a delicate move to show her support. Jane's lips trembled before a smile to play on them.

It was alright: everything would be alright.

"Are you staying here for a week?"

Maura's not so genuine question got the expected effect. Marion stopped staring at Jane and focused on her. She then shook her head and took a sip of the same cocktail Jane had almost finished.

"Two weeks, actually. How about you?"

"Oh, what a coincidence! Jane and I are here for two weeks as well. We are staying at one of the beachfront villas, a bit further down the main path."

…

Maura closed the sliding door and watched how Jane went to turn the television on. They had stayed at the reception for a while before finally heading back to the villa in silence. Obviously coming across Marion bothered Jane a lot.

"Room service?" Maura grabbed the villa tablet and opened the restaurant window to check the different dinner menus. "Is there any specific food that you would like to have?"

Jane shrugged. She was starving but she also knew that Maura was trying to play a trick on her: she didn't care about dinner, all she wanted was to make her speak because she, Jane, now looked grumpy.

"Marion is nice."

Bingo.

"Yeah... And she thinks we are nudist people." Unable to properly choose a tv program, Jane threw the remote control on the couch and leaned her head backwards. "I don't want her to think it's my stuff to... Go naked like that."

"You didn't do that around Charlie?" Maura bit her lips to prevent a smirk from showing. She had not missed Marion's remark. A pair of angry dark eyes landed on her, causing her to raise her hands to apologize. "Whoever this Charlie was..."

Jane rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk about Charlie because there was nothing to say about this girl. Nothing at all.

"She was just a friend. People love gossiping, even if it's utterly wrong. Now show me the dinner suggestions."

Maura nodded and held the tablet out to Jane. She knew that she didn't have to insist. After all, there were things about her past that she hadn't shared with Jane. And it was fine. So she couldn't ask for something different from her friend, it wasn't fair.

She grabbed a bottle of coconut oil instead and settled in Jane's back as she rubbed some against her hands. Jane's shoulders were warm but Maura quickly felt the tension in her friend's muscles.

Yet for once, she didn't have to face any complaint: Jane let her do from the beginning to the end.

"They don't have chicken? Something simple? Gosh, these high-standard stuff... Just choose for us, Maura. I don't know half of the words they're usin' here." Jane closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her friend pressed on a specific spot by her nape. "Just make sure there's beer. I want beer for that hot tub session we'll have right after dinner."

Maura raised an eyebrow with a mischievousness that would have intimidated her friend. But what could she say? Jane's latest remark could lead to many double-entendre. If Maura didn't know better, she would have sworn that the hot tub comment was an invitation to something more.

"It was a nice reception. I'm glad there was no game whatsoever though."

"Like what? A strip-poker? Don't worry, they keep that for tomorrow. As long as it happens before 5.45pm, you know."

The remark owed Jane a gentle tap on top of the head soon followed by a stolen kiss on her shoulder that announced the end of the massage. The rather intimate move took them both a bit aback but neither of them dared to make the slightest remark.

Maura grabbed back the tablet and cleared her voice out of nervousness. She quickly scanned a few dishes then sent the online order.

"Jane..." Maura needed to look at her friend, she couldn't remain in her back anymore. So she went to sit down on the coffee table to be at eye-level. "I don't have a perfect body. Nobody has a perfect body, as a matter of fact... Because perfection doesn't exist. But this kind of place... This kind of resort... It gives us the opportunity to free ourselves from the diktats of a body shaming society; if only for a while. I'm not asking you to get undressed. Gosh, I don't even know if I'll have the courage to do it myself! But... Take some distance with it. Try to accept nudist people's philosophy. It's important. It really is."

"If you don't have a perfect body then I don't know who does."

Maura shook her head but her blond curls didn't hide the sudden pink shade that went up her cheeks. The compliment was bare in all its honesty.

"You're the most stubborn idiot I've ever met, Jane Rizzoli." Then without waiting for a reply, Maura walked to a large wooden chest set by the stairs that led to the top floor of the villa. She opened it with dramatic effect. "Since you won't play strip-poker tonight for curfew reasons, how about..." She leaned over and grabbed a box out of the chest before waving it at Jane. " _Clue_?"

How did Maura know that there were social boardgames in this chest? Her curiosity piqued, Jane stood up and came closer to her friend. She cast a brief glance at the contents of the chest before wrinkling her nose in obvious disapproval.

"We solve crimes all year long, Maura. As much as I love my job, do you really think it's the kind of activities I want to do when I'm on vacation?" She dropped the box back in the chest then grabbed her friend's forearm. "Come on, we'll have another cocktail instead while we Instagram our sunset pics. Clothes or not, there's no way I don't make Frost green with envy. The Caribbean Sea's stil the Caribbeans."

"You're not really good at choosing the appropriate hashtags though. Let me do it for you, please. As a matter of fact, I should take advantage of the evening to gather the best articles on the matter so you can improve your Instagram skills. What do you think?" Maura let Jane push her to sit down at the teak table on the basement terrace but frowned before the absence of answer from her friend. "Jane?"

Someone swam their way up the lazy river swimming-pool by Maura's feet. Maura politely waved at the woman then looked at the resort.

The night had come. A perfect dark blue sky was now reigning over _Hidden Beach_ , accompanied by a thousand glimmering stars. The birds had also stopped singing, giving back to nature the soft murmurs of the waves crashing on the beach. Old lamps had been turned on every five steps or so on the different paths, on every terrace and balcony.

Maura smiled at the scene: it looked just as magical as she imagined Neverland to be. The thought caused her to laugh quietly.

"What's so funny?"

Jane had sat at the table with two drinks and their respective smartphones. Maura grabbed her electronic device and absentmindly stared at the screen.

"Nothing." She stopped on the selfie she and Jane had taken on the beach, with the sunset in the background. They looked happy. An inaudible murmur passed her lips, one that Jane missed. "Nothing, Peter Pan. Nothing."

It was one of those shameful secrets that nobody ever dared to confess but, in a perfect world, Maura wished nothing but to be Jane's Wendy.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages!**_

 **Chapter Four**

Maura picked a strawberry from a plate and moaned of pleasure as she began to chew on the piece of fruit. It was juicy, sweet as it had to be.

"You got us the diet breakfast? Where are my pancakes?" Jane walked out on the terrace and squinted her eyes at the different plates set down on the table. She yawned, still half-asleep. "I don't want a juice cleanse, Maura!"

Maura rolled her eyes: if the world ever needed a grumpy-mood scale, scientists would surely base themselves on Jane. What was it that her friend could never be in a light mood even when she found herself by the _Riviera Maya_? It was a bit annoying. The sun was shining, the temperatures were hot and they had a private beach at reach. This was enough of a reason to be happy.

"I didn't order breakfast for you because I didn't know when you would be up. It's almost 9.30am, Jane. We've already missed a conference about sustainable development in Mexico."

Jane walked back inside in search of the villa tablet. There was something a bit impolite in the idea of ordering a meal online instead of talking to someone over the phone but such system had its advantage first thing in the morning when Jane's English vocabulary was reduced to "pancakes" and "coffee". She quickly chose a continental breakfast then walked back to lean against the frame of the sliding door. Maura was on a deck-chair wearing nothing but one of her numerous bikinis as well as her sunglasses and a large straw hat. A bottle of sunscreen lotion had been set down on the small coffee table on her right.

"Sustainable development?" Jane's sarcasm echoed the way she raised an eyebrow with perplexity. "I don't know if I'll be able to cope with such miss."

Without adding anything else, she grabbed a deck-chair and settled it next to her friend's before grabbing one of the large plants of the terrace.

"What are you doing?" Maura held back a sigh of frustration as silence followed her question. "Jane...! Will you leave this plant where it is? What's going on?"

"I'm making sure I won't have to face naked swimmers from my deck-chair. This is purely strategical, Maura. I'm simply creating a..." Jane frowned as Maura stood up to pull on the plant she was still holding. Was that a challenge? Maura would never win. "Dead-angle. Let go of this plant, it's mine."

If someone had happened to cross the wooden bridge that separated both sides of the lazy river pool, he or she would have witnessed a very strange scene by one of the beachfront villas: a miniature palm tree was incessantly going from right to left with a rather unexpected vigor, its leaves dancing in the soft wind of the morning.

Jane 1 - 0 Maura.

"And then what?" Maura let go of the palm tree which caused Jane to slightly lose her balance. Thankfully she didn't land in the water but still hit the coffee table with her foot. "You're going to stay hidden here all day long?"

"No. I'll make an appearance once normality's back: at 5.45pm." It was ridiculous and Jane knew it but it was also the only subterfuge she had found so far to escape from the peculiar rules of _Hidden Beach_. "It's lovely here. Now if you don't mind..." She grabbed the first book at reach which turned out to be an essay about Mayan deities. Alright, this would do the trick. "I'd like to read a bit."

A child. This was what Jane was: a child.

Hands on her hips, Maura rolled her eyes but didn't insist. She turned on her heels and took the stairs down to the lazy river pool in a perfect silence instead. Her move caused Jane to frown. Where was Maura going to?

"Going for a swim?"

The configuration of the lazy river was the strangest thing Jane had ever witnessed: the swimming-pool formed a path of water throughout the whole resort and passed in front of each apartment. The comparison was a bit exaggerated but it reminded her of the canals in Venice only a tad more lost among exotic plants and flowers.

"Oh, not only." Her chin up in defiance, Maura pursed her lips and squinted her eyes at her friend. She started swimming away with more or less dignity. "I am off to do some socializing... You know, like normal people do."

Jane was way too stubborn to ever admit it but Maura's departure slightly bruised her ego. She could socialize with anyone at any moment if she wanted to. This wasn't the issue.

Time to focus on something else: she opened the book she had picked and checked the table of contents. Deities like in mythology? Why not. That was still better than the agriculture essay Maura had tried to make her read on their flight.

"Good morning, neighbord!"

Call it a reflex and nothing else. Jane immediately looked up from her book to see her interlocutor. Bad idea: she found herself facing a naked man on the terrace of the villa next to theirs. A wave of panic immediately invaded her.

ILM. The Invisible Line Method. She had to stick to the Invisible Line Method.

Within a second she looked straight into the guy's eyes and forced a smile as a moan of despair got stuck in her throat. She didn't like this kind of karma at all.

"Good morning... Neighbor."

Perhaps she should have gone for a swim with Maura, after all. At least she would have been able to focus on her movements instead of facing a clothess-less stranger from the depth of her deck-chair.

Her dead-angle strategy was nothing but a big fail.

…

"Maura?" Marion approached the edge of her terrace and gave Maura a friendly smile as Maura swam by her apartment. "Good morning. How are you?"

Maura turned her head on her left and smiled back.

"I am fine, thank you. How are you? Did you sleep well?"

Marion nodded. She wasn't wearing any piece of clothing. The detail hit Maura and caused her to feel a tad stupid: of course, she wasn't wearing anything. They were at a nudist resort. She, Maura, was actually the one who didn't make sense with her bikini on.

"Would you like to be my volleyball partner? I have signed up earlier in the morning for a game on the beach but my husband isn't interested in joining me."

The enthusiastic nod Maura gave made Marion laugh. The woman winked before grabbing her sunglasses. She joined Maura in the water.

"There are... There are some parts of my body that haven't seen the sun since 1997. I'm afraid the Mexican weather would do more harm than anything on them for the moment."

Marion laughed anew. There was something cute in Maura's confession, something cute and sweet. Maura had been honest.

"Oh, I don't mind. Nobody judges anyone's choices, here. Where's Jane, by the way? Is she already on the beach?"

Maura shook her head and resumed her swimming with Marion by her side. They came across a few other vacationers but the resort was still rather calm at this hour of the day.

"She has just woken up. She will probably hit the beach later on."

And hopefully way before 5.45pm. As much as Maura understood her friend's embarrassment, she didn't want it to turn into a burden. Jane was on her first vacations since a very long time. She couldn't remain hidden behind some plants for most of the day without taking part in the numerous activities the resort offered them. It was a tad heartbreaking to see her being so anxious. What was a thin layer of fabric on a skin, anyway? Absolutely nothing.

"It's your first nudist resort, isn't it?" Marion cast a glance at Maura who timidly nodded. "It can take a little while to get used to it but you'll see it's not as tough as it seems to be."

Both women finally reached the end of the swimming-pool. They climbed the stairs and took the main path that led to the beach. Maura adjusted her straw hat on top of her head. She pouted.

"It's going to be a lot more complicated to convince Jane. To be completely honest with you... We had no idea that _Hidden Beach_ was a nudist resort. We are here because one of my assistants got us this villa for free. One of her relatives is part of the management team. Maybe I should have checked the resort online first... What can I say? The _Riviera Maya_ is quite a classic touristict destination. It didn't cross my mind that clothing would be optional here."

The white-sand beach appeared in front of them. Some more vacationers had already taken possession of the best located deck-chairs while others were having fun in the sea. A couple was sitting at the bar, enjoying what seemed to be a large ice-coffee.

"Have you ever..."

Maura shook her head. She knew what kind of question was coming. As a matter of fact, she had expected it from the beginning. It was basic, random curiosity. Exactly the same one as the one she had regarding Marion's life philosophy.

"No! Well, not really." Could Maura really consider the memory that had hit her mind as naturism? She shrugged and laughed apologetically. "Unless riding nude in college to protest against budget cuts can be considered as being a nudist."

The least she could say was that her remark surprised Marion a lot. The woman stopped walking and squinted her eyes pretending to ponder the question. She looked extremely amused.

"I don't think so!"

Maura burst out laughing. She liked Marion who seemed to be a nice person. It was strange to see that Jane had actually never mentioned her but then in all fairness, Maura had to admit that Jane rarely talked about the years she had spent at the Academy. She always remained vague when she did; vague and prudish.

She had never mentioned Charlie either and Maura knew for a fact that not a single woman working at the BPD was named Charlie. The mystery over this woman was complete.

"Which net are we supposed to..."

Marion pointed out the very last one on their left. Two other women were already waiting there in the sun. They both waved at Marion as soon as they spotted her.

"I met them yesterday at the reception. The one's on the right is Lisa and the other one is Jule. Lisa's from Nevada, Jule's Canadian."

And they were both naked. It was not that Maura was obsessing over the whole thing but she felt bad to be the only one who was still dressed even if her clothing choice was rather minimal: what was a bikini, after all?

Her heart began to beat faster as she approached Jule and Lisa. She wasn't good at socializing. She had never been. Perhaps she had showed signs of improvement since Jane had made it into her life but it was far from being a success every time. Meeting other people made her feel nervous, very nervous.

Hopefully the context here would make things easier; if only a bit. People tended to be more relaxed when on vacation.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's note: thank you very much everyone.**_

 **Chapter Five**

1.45pm and still no news from Maura. Jane cast a last glance at the terrace before storming out of the villa by the main door. She wasn't pissed at her friend but at herself. She completely deserved what was now happening: Maura had left in the morning to have fun and if she hadn't returned already then it meant that she had succeeded.

The loneliness and latent jealousy Jane was feeling were nothing but the reflect of her very own stupidity.

"Alright..."

Jane thought about the different options she had before finally taking the path that led to the beach. It was a very sunny day and since Maura had left wearing nothing but a bikini, Jane doubted that she had headed to the library. Even if they were at a nudist resort.

She angrily rushed to the beach, her fists clentched against her hips. She knew how disproportionate her reaction was but she didn't have a hold over it. Hopefully once she would make it to the white-sand area, her hearbeats would have slowed down their pace a bit.

And then what? She couldn't force Maura to stay with her hidden behind a miniature palm tree. Her friend was having fun on her vacations, who was she to prevent it from happening?

Jane spotted Maura at the bar, sitting up on one of the stools; a drink in her hand. She was in full conversation with three other women. Against all expectations, Jane barely realized that neither Marion nor the two other strangers were naked.

Her mind went straight into panic mode instead. What was Maura doing with her ex-classmate?

"Hey..." Casual, Jane had to sound casual. A hand in the pocket of her unbuttoned jean shorts, she politely nodded at Maura's new friends yet doing her best to keep on ignoring her shaking tone of voice. "I'm Jane, nice to meet you."

"Oh I'm so glad you're here." A tipsy Maura grabbed Jane by the waist to pull her closer to her body. She pointed out Lisa and Jule before introducing them. "Here are my volleyball mates..."

Jane's skin was hot under Maura's fingers; hot and smooth. Of course, Jane was wearing clothes but Maura was nonetheless glad to see that her friend hadn't bothered on putting a shirt over her bikini top.

A boldness caused by alcohol pushed Maura to look down at her friend's lower stomach for a couple of seconds. The olive skin contrasted with the pale blue of the fabric. Jane's stomach was perfect; fit at its best.

"Are you... Are you hungry? 'Cause I've booked a table for two." It was a lie but Jane didn't feel like staying on the beach with anyone but Maura. "For 2pm..."

How many cocktails had Maura drunk? Jane got a look at her friend's bar bracelet and barely held back a smile. Maura had only had one cocktail. She simply had spent too much time in the sun. This explained her Cheshire smile.

"Oh, a romantic lunch... We'll leave you alone, then. Have a nice day, girls!"

Jule winked at Jane before turning around. She, Jule and Marion left rather quickly. At least they were polite, wrong about Jane and Maura's relationship status but polite.

Jane waited for a couple of seconds then looked at her friend. A smirk played on her lips as Maura loudly sipped the last drops of her cocktail with a straw. Doctor Isles' world renown elegance had officially disappeared.

"Can you walk?"

Maura rolled her eyes. What was Jane thinking? She was an Isles. Of course, she could handle a mix of alcohol and sun.

"I'm not drunk. I'm simply joyful... Unlike you." Maura stood up and twirled to prove her point. "Unless you've left your grumpy mood somewhere between a cactus and a palm tree."

Maura's unexpected sarcasm caused Jane to briefly freeze on her way back to the main path. She slowly turned her head to stare at her friend then blinked. Really? Sarcasm now? Though she had to admit that Maura wasn't as tipsy as she had assumed her to be in the first place. She was happily trotting on the path, very aware of her moves.

"You didn't have to lie to take me away from them, you know."

Jane looked down. So not only had Maura developed a sense of sarcasm but she had also turned into a psychic. That was what one would call a very productive morning.

"I didn't know what to say." Jane made sure to look down at her feet. She wasn't brave enough to face Maura after such confession for it was way too meaningful. She swallowed hard and bit her lips. "I hope you had fun."

She had missed Maura. A lot. Too much. The truth was that she had lost herself in a labyrinth of boredom and that she owed her abdication to the death of her so-called pride. She wanted to spend time with Maura, even if it meant coming across people who were not wearing anything.

"You still have your bikini on?"

The question caused Maura to laugh. She knew Jane too well to actually insist on the confession her friend had just made through half-words. The situation was a bit tensed for the moment. She gladly nodded instead.

"I'm going to need a lot more than one cocktail to consider my clothes are optional. Let's say I'm... I'm not there yet."

…

"This chocolate cake is everything, Jane. Come on! Try some." Maura approached a full spoon of the dessertnbut Jane categorically refused it. Her reaction made Maura laugh. "So what did you do, this morning?"

It was almost 3pm and the main restaurant of _Hidden Beach_ was empty. Only a few couples were still there, enjoying a coffee on the rooftop terrace that overlooked the ribbon of blue spreading further down the main building of the resort.

"Well..." Jane folded her napkin to win some time. "I read that book about gods and stuff which now makes of me a Mayan deities specialist. Did you know that the island we can see from here has a temple dedicated to _Ixchel_?"

Maura followed the direction her friend showed her. She squinted her eyes at the small piece of land she could see in the distance then shook her head.

"No, I didn't know about that." She did know who _Ixchel_ was since the goddess was linked to medicine but the brand new piece of information piqued her curiosity. A surge of pride rose within herself because the information came from nobody but Jane. _Her_ Jane. "Can we actually visit it?"

The smile that had lit up Jane's features disappeared behind a light curtain of disappointment. She shrugged and looked down at her empty plate.

"I actually dunno 'bout that."

She had failed. She had hoped to make Maura happy with her knowledge about the Mayan civilization but her friend had reduced her to silence within one question. It was embarrassing.

"We can ask, it's okay." As if she suddenly felt the discomfort her friend was going through, Maura grabbed Jane's hand on top of the table and held it tightly. A delicate grin curled up her lips as she locked her eyes with Jane's dark ones. "We will stop by the reception to ask about it, on our way to the spa. I forgot to tell you about it this morning but I booked a couple massage session for 5pm today."

She hadn't required the couple thing but since the resort only welcomed couples, she had had no choice but to quietly accept it. Hopefully it simply meant that she and Jane would have to share a room during their respective massages.

"Perfect." Jane nodded then ran her tongue over her lips. She cast a glance on her right then on her left as if to make sure that nobody would overhear what she was about to say. "Then it means I have two hours left to buy a sarong."

A sarong? Laughter rose on Maura's right. She didn't bother checking what was going on. Someone had probably made a joke at the swimming-pool bar and vacationers were just reacting to it.

"What do you need a sarong for? I have some, you know. I can lend you one if you want to."

Jane smiled but shook her head. She had actually tried a couple of them but they all had turned to be too short for the use she was planning.

"I need a long one. I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for at the resort shop. Are you interested in joining me for a quick shopping session?"

"Wait." Maura set down her glass of water then leaned over the table to get closer to her friend. "Who are you? What have you to Jane? Deities and now shopping? Is everything alright?"

No, everything wasn't alright. First they were stuck at a nudist resort while neither of them indulged in such activity then the shameful sensation Jane now felt in her lower stomach as she locked her eyes with Maura's was wrong, inappropriate. The current situation was the opposite of being alright.

Everything was falling down in the loveliest silence Jane wasn't sure to undestand.

"Almost as much as this sudden sarcastic humor you seem to have developed!" Jane rolled her eyes and swept away whatever was left of the bitterness that came within these untold things she kept for herself. "What can I say? Hey... Different country, different habits."

Maura finally let go of Jane's hand. As a matter of fact, she had completely forgotten about her very last move. Even when she had gone for a glass of water, she had simply used her other hand but at no moment had her brain told her to put an end to the intimate touch. Jane took advantage of it to settle further against the back of her seat. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

The move revealed an extra-inch of skin near the seam of her bikini bottom.

Maura looked down at it though her instinctive reaction didn't pass unnoticed at all. On the contrary. Jane immediately straightened back on her seat and nervously cleared her voice.

"You need a special sunscreen lotion for your scar. Do you have one?"

Maura knew that Jane was on vacation and that it was the last place where she wanted anyone to remind her of things she always did her best to forget but it was the medical doctor who talked. The gunshot wound had successfully healed, yet the intense Mexican sun required a high-SPF sunscreen lotion nonetheless.

"Yeah, I got one in Boston. I'm fine."

Maura's quick nod only emphasized the discomfort of the conversation. She forced a smile but it made her lips tremble too much. She grabbed back her glass of water and took a long sip of it. She shouldn't have alluded to the scar.

She should have never done that.

"Palm tree or not... You're a lot more tanned than I am. Look at you! Your skin is all brown, now." Maura playfully showed her forearm to compare their respective skin complexion. "I'm still as pale as a ghost."

Jane gladly accepted the way her friend moved on.

"It suits you!" Her index finger brushed Maura's shoulder for ephemeral seconds, just the required time Jane needed to put her friend's bikini strap back into place. "Besides you're wrong. You have tanned too."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's note: thank you very much for the reviews, the suggestions and the PMs (I'll try to reply to the PMs tomorrow).**_

 **Chapter Six**

"You don't look very convinced."

Maura shrugged rather nonchalantly. Her hands in the pockets of her cotton white dress, she focused on her steps in order to avoid Jane's eyes. No, she wasn't particularly convinced by her friend's "sarong strategy" for plenty of different reasons.

But then seeing Jane trying to make an effort and adapt to their singular environment deserved all her attention; all her kindness as well.

"I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'll prove it to you tomorrow." Jane snorted. Maura's usual enthusiasm hadn't really showed when she, Jane, had let her know about the sarong idea. "Why the silence? Dammit, Maura." There they were, the doubts Jane had dreaded since the very beginning. "It's an awesome idea and it's gonna work fantastic."

Or not and she would make a fool of herself. It was still a possibility Jane couldn't completely discard. Unfortunately.

"I hope it is going to work... In spite of the wind." Maura winked at her friend before a playful smile to show on her lips. "Tomorrow is another day, isn't it? You have all your chances to prove me wrong, which I hope. Now let's just enjoy this evening show."

A magician. Jane couldn't help wincing in mental pain. This was not really her definition of a good evening but Maura had insisted: she wanted to go out, tonight. After all, they had spent the evening before at the villa. It was only fair even if it meant dealing with women cut in half and white doves coming straight out a hat.

It must have been a popular artist though because the more they approached the little atrium of the resort, the more vacationers seemed to join on the path. Would they all fit in the room? With a little bit of luck, the room would be full. Then they would draw a line under 'Magic Juanito' and the issue would be solved.

Jane politely smiled at a woman on her right then cast a glance at Maura.

Her friend was wrong: she _was_ suntanned. Her skin contrasted a lot more with the whiteness of her piece of clothing that it usually did. The top of her nose was also red, if only slightly. Jane found it cute. Lovely.

"What would you like to do, tomorrow? We can't spend the day in Cancún since the shuttle is already fully booked. Tennis? Diving?"

"It's all about the sarong, Maura!" The beach would do it. Jane had actually spotted the perfect king-size mattress a bit further down the volleyball area. Nobody would approach it. "Let's just have another quiet day... We're going to Cozumel on Tuesday anyway. So let's just enjoy the quietness of the resort one more day."

They had done well to stop by the reception in the lobby on their way to the spa as _Hidden Beach_ offered expeditions to the island where a temple dedicated to Ixchel had been erected. They had immediately signed up for the little tour before happily trotting towards the five-star spa.

The one-hour massage session had turned out to be the best spa experienced Jane had ever had. The employees had been lovely and the service impeccable. If she had been a tad anxious at first because of the couple theme, she had immediately relaxed when she had realized that it meant sharing the same room as Maura while sipping on Champagne.

If that was what being in a couple meant then she was more than eager to question back her current celibacy.

They stepped into the main building and followed the crowd of tourists towards large wooden doors on their right. Music came from the room, typical Latino music. Jane rolled her eyes. She was getting tired of the whole Latino cliché thing.

"Oh, that looks fun!" A surge of enthusiasm pushed Maura to grab her friend by the hand and dragged her closer to the atrium. She cast a glance at the room. "There is a table that is still available close to the stage. Perfect!"

Jane didn't have time to complain. Maura literally pulled on her arm and made her sit there with a rather unexpected authority.

"Aren't we..." Jane shrugged. She didn't want to upset Maura. "Aren't we a bit too close to the stage? The last thing I want is Harry Potter to choose me to be his freakin' assistant."

Maura swept away the remark with a gesture of the hand before waving at a waiter. She ordered two cocktails in a perfect Spanish. Her effort to speak in the official language of the country amused Jane: of course, it was very polite but they were at an international resort. Everyone spoke English there.

The lights suddenly went off as music got louder and people began to applause. The waiter brought the two cocktails as well as a plate of local pastries. Jane picked one right away which owed her a disapproval look from Maura.

Whatever.

"¡Caramba!"

Maura raised an eyebrow as a man dressed as a mariachi rushed to the stage. This wasn't really the kind of magician she had hoped to see perform. The "caramba" allusion was quite a cliché. Slightly disappointed, she grabbed her cocktail and began to sip on it. At least she could count on alcohol when evenings turned out to be boring.

"My name is Juanito, Magic Juanito!" The old man squinted his eyes at the crowd of vacationers. "How's _Hidden Beach_ tonight? No sunburnts on delicate parts of your body?"

Maura barely held back a moan of despair. It was the last time she insisted so much on spending the evening at the resort small cabaret. Her eyes went from the stage to Jane who looked absolutely mortified on her seat. She hadn't even touched her cocktail yet.

"Of course, Magic Juanito needs his Juanita..."

Jane sank on her seat. This was the moment she dreaded the most. The coincidence of the names was already a lot to handle and she knew how karma tended to be bitchy under such circumstances.

Magic Juanito rushed down the stairs that led in the room and started going from one table to another, making a joke here and there that caused the audience to burst out laughing every time. Perplexity showed on Maura's face: these people were either dumb or had a very suspicious sense of humor.

"Oh... Mysterious dark-haired woman over here!" The man stopped right in front of Jane and winked at her a bit too joyfully. "What's your name?"

"... … … Jane... ?"

Bad idea. She should have given any name but this one. Of course, he would see it as a sign and she would find herself on stage before she had a chance to say know.

See? Karma. Karma was _always_ a bitch.

Jane's instinct sadly didn't fool her. Magic Juanito grabbed her by the hand under the applause of the audience. In a perfect world, she would have turned down the "invitation" but the truth was that she didn't want to make ennemies right now.

She was the only one who wore clothes during the day, her attitude was already unfriendly enough.

"Oh no..."

Maura sank on her seat and only realized that she had already emptied her glass when her straw hit the bottom rather violently. Without thinking it twice, she grabbed Jane's drink and started sipping on it to forget whatever was about to happen and how she would then have to deal with her friend's anger once the show would be over.

It was her fault, after all. None of this would have happened if they had stayed at the villa or if they had gone for a quiet walk on the beach.

"Who's the lovely lady who tries to disappear behind the table right now?"

Maura felt a wave of heat rush up her cheeks as Magic Juanito pointed to her. A spotlight blinded her. She forced a smile nonetheless then timidly waved at Jane.

"It's Maura?" Jane's voice was shaking. She looked utterly nervous. "She's... She's my partner."

"Ay... _¡Qué bonito es el amor!_ *" Magic Juanito showed Jane where she had to place herself for the next part of the show. "Jane/Juanita, Juanita/Jane, Juanito/Juanita... See? It was meant to be!" The magician looked then at Maura. "No offense, sweetie!"

A ridiculous laugh slid on Maura's lips. A nightmare, she was currently going through a nightmare. Living with naked people was absolutely nothing compared to what she was living now.

She deserved whatever tantrum Jane would have in a couple of hours.

…

Maura watched how Jane closed the door of their beachfront villa. She then walked to the dining table and set down the dozen of roses Jane had made appear from a hat earlier in the evening.

" _Lo siento._ *"

Jane raised a hand as a sign of protest. She rushed to the mini-bar and grabbed a small bottle of rum.

"No, Maura. No more Spanish for the day." She took a long sip. The alcohol burnt against her throat, warming up her stomach almost lovingly. "And no more evening shows."

Maura looked down at the roses and bit her lips to hold back a laugh. It hadn't turned out to be as bad as she had imagined. Jane had simply played the assistant for two tricks, the second bringing up flowers out of nowhere. The fact Magic Juanito had claimed the roses were for Maura was even sweet.

Though quite uncomfortable for Jane to offer them to her friend in front of a crowd of fifty strangers.

"At least it's a gay friendly resort, which is pretty... Pretty positive."

Even Maura wasn't convinced by her own statement. It was lame, true but lame since she and Jane were not even a couple. She had come across two same-sex couples in the morning though. At least she and Jane weren't supposed to be the _exception_ for the next two weeks.

"I need to get drunk. I need to forget. I need... I need a bath." Jane took her shoes off and didn't bother pushing them away. The bottle of rum in her hand, she walked to the stairs and waved at the first floor. "I'll be there if you need me, wifey."

Maura quietly nodded and curled up on the couch as soon as Jane disappeared from her sight. It had been a strange first day, a strange and very long first day. She didn't know whether it was linked to the peculiar environment she was in but a whirl of feelings kept on making her feel dizzy.

She didn't know about a thousand things anymore, things she couldn't even name or barely see, actually. And it made her feel a tad lonely.

She dared a look at the table, at the roses she had dropped there. Something tightened in her heart and made her bite her lower lip. Perhaps she was simply tired and needed some sleep. She had had fun, after all. A lot of fun.

She dragged herself to the stairs with a curious uncertainty and let her steps lead her to the bedroom on the top floor. The door of the bathroom was open ajar, a ray light piercing through it.

"I'm here, Magic Juanita."

A gasp followed her remark, a gasp that quickly melted in a growl.

" _¡Cállate!_ *"

...

 _¡Qué bonito es el amor!: how lovely/what a lovely thing love is!_

 _Lo siento: I'm sorry_

 _¡Cállate!: shut up!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, I really appreciate it.**_

 **Chapter Seven**

"See?" Jane made a step outside the villa. She opened her arms and twirled before winking at Maura. "I'm naked and I don't give a damn because..." She pointed to her temple with her index finger. "Genius!"

Sort of naked.

She had actually tied her sarong the way she would have worn a dress and had left her bikini in the bedroom. The nuance was not as insignificant as she wanted it to be but given the circumstances Maura preferred to nod in approval instead.

She knew her friend, she knew how going outside wearing nothing but a thin sarong was an act of real boldness for Jane.

Maura showed the path that led to the beach and closed the door of the villa behind her. At least Maura was glad to spend the morning with Jane unlike the day before. Her friend had swept her grumpiness away, ecstatic at the prospect of giving it a try to what she saw as the idea of the century.

Of course, it barely took them five steps to realize that it wouldn't be the success Jane had expected.

"I had a strange dream, last night. Sadly... I can't remember it properly. I'm pretty sure it's the reason why I'm feeling sleep deprived right now and..." Maura paused as she finally noticed Jane's odd jig. She raised a perplexed eyebrow. "Is everything alright?"

Rhetorical question. Jane was not the kind of person who suddenly walked in a funny way for absolutely no reason. She didn't have a very exhuberant behavior.

A veil of embarrassment darkened Jane's features. A pout formed on her lips, a discreet one. Obviously her stubborness was trying to win an impossible fight against reality. After a few extra seconds of silence, she shrugged and looked aside.

"It's going up my ass."

Her inaudible whisper caused Maura to blink. She wasn't sure to have understood what Jane had just told her. Not sure at all. Putting one and one together confirmed her first conclusion though. She burst out laughing.

"This ain't funny, Maura!" Jane hissed before making sure that nobody was walking towards them. "There must be, like, something wrong. I must have done something wrong. Could you check for me?"

Maura raised her hands to apologize for her reaction. The truth was that of all the potential reasons of a fail concerning Jane's sarong idea, she hadn't thought about this one at all. But as the good friend she was, she nodded and grabbed Jane by the shoulders to make her turn around.

"Hmm."

The sarong had been properly tied. There was no reason for it to bother Jane as it did whenever she started walking. The source of the issue had to lie somewhere else. Maura frowned, deep in thoughts.

Perhaps the fabric of the sarong itself was too thin to be worn without a bikini under it.

"What? What's going on? Why the hmm?" Jane turned her head to lock her eyes with her friend's hazel ones. "It's not transparent, right? I dunno, tie it again maybe."

"I'm just quite confused, Jane." Maura took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down her giggles. "Your sarong is properly tied. There is nothing I can do, nothing I can change. I'm afraid the issue comes from the fact you aren't wearing anything else."

Maura's fingers brushed the fabric for an ephemeral second. There was nothing to arrange, absolutely nothing.

"Oh great." Jane rolled her eyes. She didn't like the way the efforts she was trying to make had been 'rewarded'. Annoyed, she tightened her grip on the large beach totebag she had bought at the resort shop the day before and quickly resumed her walking. "Then hurry up. Once I'm lying down, this shouldn't be an issue anymore."

Maura nodded. She was glad to see that Jane had not chosen the option to back up in retreat to put on her bikini. At least her stubborness pushed her to remain determined and faithful to her resolutions.

They reached the beach within a few minutes and rushed to the king-size mattress Jane had spotted. The sun slid on it in spite of the straw roof but it was still rather early in the day and lying in the sun was still bearable.

Maura settled her belongings on her side of the mattress and proceeded to apply sunscreen on her arms. The music of the beach bar reached her ears in a peaceful way, the melody melting into the loud crashing of the waves a few feet away.

She looked at the sea and bit her lips as an idea hit her mind.

"Jane?"

Jane had rolled like a sushi on the mattress and was now making sure that not a single inch of skin from any intimate part of her body was seeing the light of the day.

"What?"

Maura had sat on the mattress, her feet sunk in the warm sand. She looked down at them; her back turned at Jane.

"Do you mind if I take my top off?"

Her question got followed by a long silence, a very long and embarrassed silence. Perhaps she shouldn't have asked in the first place. If she had simply taken her bikini top off then Jane would have had no choice but to accept the situation. One more time, Maura had succumbed to a politeness that actually embarrassed the two of them.

She hated it when it happened.

"I didn't know you were missing the South of France so much."

Maura rolled her eyes. It was a joke and she knew it. Jane hadn't found any other way to let her know that she was okay with it. Humor was a shield, a lovely one when Jane didn't feel particularly at ease.

"I'm going for a swim, anyway. Would you like to come with me?"

Jane looked up at the sea and pondered the idea for a short while. She finally shook her head then took her tablet out of her totebag.

"Nah. I guess it's time for a Bostonian Skype call. Maybe I'll join you later though. Enjoy!"

Maura's bikini top landed quietly on top of the mattress. She didn't respect the fifteen-minute time rule between applying sunscreen and staying in the sun. Her sudden state of near nakedness probably embarrassed Jane a bit too much so she stood up and walked straight to the sea instead.

Jane's comfort was her priority: as it had always been.

Lying on her stomach, Jane briefly looked up in the direction of the sea but the minute she spotted Maura, she looked down anew. It was the first time that she saw her friend going topless and the truth was that she didn't know how to handle it nor how to handle the funny sensation the situation stirred up within her body.

She turned her tablet on and opened her Skype account.

"Damn." The sun blinded her, she needed to turn around to make sure she would properly see the screen. "Ugh."

Moving at the pace of a turtle, Jane tried to settle in a different position. The situation was critic though: she could lose her sarong at any moment if she weren't careful enough. This was the last thing she wanted to experience.

After endless efforts and the realization that she would never be able to join Maura in the water since she hadn't taken her bikini with her and there was no way she would swim in a sarong, she settled her tablet again and called her mother.

The angle of the cam was perfect: Angela would even be able to see the sea in the distance.

"Hey!" Jane waved at her mother as soon as the matriarch appeared on screen. TJ was sitting on her lap. "Hello, Boston!"

Jane hadn't bothered on calling anyone until now. She had simply sent a few text messages and posted pictures on different social networks. This Skype call was the very first time she could actually see her relatives. It unexpectedly warmed up her heart.

"How is Mexico?" Angela pointed to the screen for TJ to look at it. "Here's your auntie, honey. Look where she is... Isn't it a beautiful beach?"

"Mexico's awesome. The sun's shining, the temps are high... Everything's lookin' good here. How's my favorite nephew in the whole wild world?"

This expression always made Maura laugh. How could Jane have a favorite nephew since she only had one? TJ was thus, by definition, her favorite nephew. The thought caused Jane to smile even if Maura was not lying next to her right now.

"We're snowed in, here. Boston's going through a massive snow storm. Have you not watched the news?"

This was typical Angela Rizzoli ridiculousness. Did she really think people spent their vacations glued to the tv when they happened to be at a _Riviera Maya_ resort?

"No... I ran out of time for that, ma'. Maura's keeping me pretty busy right now." The double-entendre of the remark made Jane blush. This wasn't what she meant to say, not at all. "I mean, there're a lot of activities and you know how demanding Maura can be."

Was this any better? Honestly not so much.

Angela didn't insist though. She looked rather happy to be able to see her daughter's face though she seemed a lot more interested in the beach.

"Where's Maura? You can tell her that Bass is eating very well. I didn't have to force him nor anything. He's having a nice appetite."

This piece of information would definitely make Maura happy. She had alluded to her tortoise the day before and was a tad worried as Bass hadn't felt very well these past few weeks. Jane thought he was actually moody but whenever she tried to say that to Maura, it ended up in a ridiculous argument of some sort.

"Cool, I'll let her know. She went for a swim. As you can see, we're on the beach right now. It's a private beach, it belongs to the resort. Actually there's even a bar and a few..."

"Jane!"

It wasn't the fact that her mother had interrupted her – this was a Rizzoli habit – but the suddenly panicked tone of voice that her mother had used that caused Jane to stop talking. What was going on? She squinted her eyes at the screen and realized that her mother was covering TJ's eyes with her hand as if she wanted to prevent him from seeing something.

"What?"

Angela leaned over her laptop. Her features had deepened. She murmured her question as low as she could.

"Why are there people naked behind you, on the beach?"

Jane froze. She did not need to turn around to understand what her mother was talking about. An idea, she needed to come up with an idea – a very good excuse – and now. Sadly her brain turned blank and she ended up forcing a smile to win some time.

"These are... Germans. They're going to the shower."

Angela's silence and absence of reaction would have made Jane laugh if she hadn't felt so tensed herself.

"Oh." Angela blinked. She didn't know many Germans, after all. "To the shower? Hmm okay... Though it's not a reason to walk clothes-less on the beach, Janie. Weird habit."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages, I'm really glad to see that you're having fun with this story.**_

 **Chapter Eight**

"Jane! Jane! Jane! Jane! Jane!"

Maura suddenly slowed down as she heard the crowd cheering for her friend. Something was happening, something she hadn't planned at all. At least the applause that accompanied Jane's name was a clear sign that there was no emergency: people sounded joyful, if not just hysterical. Even ecstatic.

Her curiosity piqued, Maura crossed the small bridge that separated her from the swimming-pool bar and squinted her eyes at the scene.

She had left Jane two hours ago after lunch to take a nap at their beachfront villa. Except the last time she had seen her friend, Maura had had to deal with the aftermath of the disastrous Skype call Jane had shared with her mother. Panic and anger were nouns that reflected way better Jane's current state of mind than whatever joyful activity at the bar could push vacationers to chant her name.

And yet it was exactly what was happening.

"What's going on..."

Maura resumed her walking on the path that led to the bar. She came across a couple from Denmark and politely nodded at them as they waved at her. They looked absolutely delighted to see her. Weird. They had barely talk for two minutes a bit earlier in the morning when Maura had gone for a swim in the Caribbean sea.

"Your partner, she's really something!" The Danish woman winked at Maura before bursting out laughing. "She's a real entertainer. Life's never boring with her, right?"

"Err..." What could Maura say? Jane's presence in her existence had definitely brightened her days but it didn't explain the current cacophony at the bar; nor the woman's remark. "Oh, yes. Jane is... She's a leader."

This wasn't a lie. Or at least not for Maura. She did see her friend as a leader, not as a quiet little thing that remained in a corner. Nobody forgot Jane. Whenever she entered a room, people looked at her. The thing was that she didn't realize it at all and was even convinced that reality was the exact opposite.

It was just how Jane worked: she didn't have the self-confidence people thought she had, not when it came to personal matters.

This time, Maura sped up her pace. She rushed to the bar, more than eager to find out about the reason that stood behind all of this. And what she saw there blew her mind.

Jane was fist pumping, focused on a dozen of bingo cards. Other players seemed to barely pay attention to their own cards as they were all staring at Jane, waiting for a reaction from her part. An employee named Romana grabbed a small ball out of a box and cleared her voice before announcing the number she had just picked.

"63!"

Time seemed to get suspended. For a brief moment, life stopped at _Hidden Beach Resort_ as Jane didn't react. Everything depended on her. Her next move was crucial, the tension was palpable.

And then it happened.

She tightened her grip on the big sharpie she was holding and, with a smile of victory, marked her card before raising her arms triumphantly.

"Bingooooooo!"

Maura blinked. The scene was surrealistic. What had happened within the last two hours that Jane had suddenly developed such passion for bingo? As far as Maura knew, Jane had never been particularly fond of the game. She had even often said that it was some boring thing for elderly people. Yet there she was now, cheered up by an entire crowd.

A naked one, besides.

The detail caught Maura's attention. If Jane still had her bikini on, as well as her sarong tied to her waist, she was now high-fiving naked vacationers without the mere issue. This wasn't progress: this was a miracle, a real one.

"What..." Maura finally closed the distance with the bar and, hands on her hips, she shook her head at Jane as an amused smile played on her lips. "Really?"

Her quiet question got welcomed by a wink and before she had a chance to realize what was happening, Maura found herself in Jane's arms. Her friend made her twirl, her laugh melting in the wind under the hoorah of the crowd.

"I've won bingo, Mauri-to!"

Maura rolled her eyes. This nickname was a complete no-go. As much as she understood and appreciated Jane's sudden happiness, she could not accept to be named after a cocktail. There were limits to respect.

"And what have you won, exactly?"

Asking for more details would come, later on.

Obviously the collective surge of joy forced Maura to remain basic and unaware of the whole story. How had Jane landed at the bar? Why had she taken part in the afternoon game? What had happened to her prudish attitude? It was crazy. A few hours earlier, she still had a hard time coming across anyone who wasn't dressed and there she was now, having so much fun among a whole crowd of clothess-less people who seemed to see her as the Messiah.

The bingo Messiah.

"A helicopter ride. We got the helicopter ride!"

"Oh, really? This is fantastic! Congratulations..." Maura suddenly realized that everyone was looking at them with a Cheshire smile. "Honey."

She had never been very fond of pet names, even when in a real relationship, but something told Maura that this was the kind of thing Jane's new friends were expecting from her right now. There was no point in disappointing them. Besides, it oddly sounded right and natural to call her friend like that.

"It's a one-hour flight, with champagne and all. I owe it to Martin, actually. He's the one who pushed me to choose the right bingo card. You, my friend..." Jane pointed to some guy in his thirties and winked at him. "Are a genius!"

Maura looked at said Martin. A sunburnt genius, then. He looked just as red as a lobster.

…

Maura laughed. She still had a hard time believing that Jane had turned to be the most popular vacationer of the resort just because she had happened to be at the right place at the right moment. Her head leaned against the palm of her hand, she squinted her eyes at her friend and enjoyed the warmth that came within the genuine smile playing on her lips.

"Romana convinced you to play and... And that's it? That's the whole story?"

The enthusiasm of the victory had quieted down a bit but an untouchable smile still kept on lightening the features of an ecstatic Jane. She nodded with a brand new surge of energy and took a noisy sip of her mojito.

"These people are awesome, Maura. Yeah they don't wear clothes but once I stuck to the ILM, it was okay. They're super nice. By the way, Tanita and Jamie invite us to their table tonight for dinner."

Tanita and Jamie? Maura had no idea who they were but seeing Jane happy was enough to actually make her happy too. If her friend liked Tanita and Jamie then she had no reason to not like them.

"ILM?"

"Invisible Line Method. You know, the advice you gave me when we arrived. You're right, it totally works." Jane grabbed their empty glasses and motioned at the bar. "I'll go get refills, don't move. You'll get the same?"

Life was great and Mexico was awesome. The slight fiasco of the Skype call in the morning was nothing but a blurry memory now.

Jane took a deep breath and happily trotted towards the bar. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders, a heavy one. Unexpectedly. In the most glorious way ever.

"Hey, Marco. What's up?" She set the glasses down on the bar counter and high fived the bartender. She officially knew everyone: thanks to a bingo game. This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened in her life. "We'll stick to mojitos tonight. Can I have two more, please? Oh, and an extra plate of these _tapas_."

Jane turned around and leaned her elbows on the wooden counter. She focused on the sea, on the sun that had started its ballet of orange and pink in the distance. She definitely had a thing for the sunset on this beach.

"I've heard you've turned a bingo party wild..." Marion approached Jane with an empty glass. She ordered another drink and smiled at her ex-classmate. "You're still a hoot, I see."

Jane was in a good mood, a very good one. Even Marion's presence and all the things from her past the woman could more or less involuntarily bring up wouldn't change that.

She pouted but couldn't help bursting out laughing with a bright honesty.

"Maura's thrilled about the helicopter thing."

Her very own remark took her slightly aback. Why had she said such thing? Of all the options she had had, she had chosen the most confusing one. Her verbal mishap caused her to blush rather intensely.

She looked down at her feet to avoid Marion's eyes on her.

"She's very nice."

Jane nodded. It was strange to talk about Maura with someone she hadn't seen in ages. Her dark eyes briefly stopped on Maura. From where she stood, Jane could only see her back. Maura was patiently waiting for her return.

"And bright, and funny. Very smart too. She is the youngest chief medical examiner Massachusetts has ever had but she won't brag about it. She's too humble for that."

"Then how come she's not your partner in real life?" The question was slightly daring but Marion completely assumed it, as well as Jane's reaction. She smiled; softly. "You know what I mean... And no, I won't allude to Charlie or anything. I'm just talking about life right now, about what I'm seeing."

Jane's heart was pounding awfully loudly in her chest. She wasn't angry with Marion's comment but she had been taken aback by it. It came out of the blue, at a peculiar time. She swallowed hard and shrugged rather evasively.

"We're just friends. Maura... Maura's my best friend."

"Really?" Marion turned around and thanked Marco for her drink. She grabbed her glass then looked in the same direction as Jane, towards the sea. "There's nothing to be scared of, you know. There's never been anything to be scared of."

Marion walked away to join her husband and another couple at a table nearby. Jane observed her for a while, trying to ponder whatever her ex-classmate had told her.

"The ice's going to melt, Jane."

Marco's voice took her out of her blurry daydream. She turned around, smiled at the bartender then left with both drinks in her hands. People congratulated her for the bingo win on her way to her table. The nod she gave them was honest but slightly absentminded.

"There it is."

Maura leaned over and cupped her friend's face to pull her closer. She planted a delicate kiss on her cheek before grabbing her new cocktail. Jane smiled. As nice as Maura's move was, she really didn't need it to feel even more confused right now.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, I really appreciate each of them.**_

 **Chapter Nine**

"I was not naked: I had my bikini on, and my sarong. The others were naked. This isn't the same, Maura." Jane shook her head as a nervous laugh passed her lips. She felt the urge to justify herself. "It's not the same at all."

Maura climbed the outdoor stairs that led to the terrace of the main restaurant. She stopped and looked at Jane rather mischievously. She had taken advantage of her friend's good mood to tease her about the bingo game. Thus their little verbal fight was pretty harmless.

"Indeed, you are right. Yet you were among naked people, people you barely know, and it didn't bother you much. This is... This is new! This is big, Jane. Really big!"

"I told you: it's all about the invisible line." Jane squinted her eyes at the terrace of the restaurant. The place was full. "Ah! Here they are. C'mon." She grabbed Maura by the hand. "And please: behave."

Behave? Maura frowned. Jane wanted her to behave? When was the last time she hadn't _behaved_ , exactly? If there was someone in this room who mastered the art of behaving in society then it had to be her. Maura Isles knew how to behave, she certainly didn't need a _behave reminder_.

Maura pursed her lips, slightly upset, but nonetheless let Jane drag her to Jamie and Tanita's table.

She hadn't had time to ask her friend about these two people they were supposed to have dinner with. After the few cocktails on the beach, she and Jane had gone back to their villa to get ready for dinner. Then it had been time to leave for the restaurant again.

"Maura... Please meet Tanita and Jamie, from Philadelphia."

Jane stopped without any warning which caused Maura to bump onto her. She winced in pain and rubbed her shoulder before finally looking up at the couple.

"Oh." Tanita and Jamie were two women. "Nice... Nice to meet you." Maura timidly waved at them before sitting on her seat. She cast a discreet glance at Jane. Why had she not told her about this little detail? "I'm sorry, it's my fault if we're late."

It was true: she was the one to blame. She had had a last-minute hitch with a hairdryer that had refused to cooperate. Though in all honesty, this wouldn't have happened if Jane hadn't let the accessory in the sun all day long. So she was only half to blame.

"Oh, it's fine. No worries!" Tanita brightly smiled at Maura. "We're on vacations, aren't we? We have all the time in the world."

The remark reassured Maura a bit. She grabbed the menu Jane held out to her and smiled back at Tanita. The woman was in her early thirties, with short dark hair and blue eyes. Jamie wore her auburn hair in a rather graceful ponytail which highlighted the freckles she had on her cheeks. She looked somewhat younger.

"So, the two of you are from Philadelphia? What a lovely city."

A waitress came to the table to take everyone's order. Jane waited for the employee to leave again to grab Maura's hand on the table and nod at their evening companions. Tanita and Jamie did think that she and Maura were a couple. As a matter of fact, they had even alluded to it during the bingo game. Thus Jane felt a tad forced to play along.

Besides, it wasn't unpleasant at all.

"Born and raised: well, Fishtown, actually. And you're from Boston, right?" Jamie grabbed her glass of wine to make a toast. "To the East Coast!"

Everyone laughed.

Though Jane did a bit less longer than the others. As soon as she noticed Marion in the room, she let go of Maura's hand and straightened up as if she had been stung by a bee. She hadn't forgotten her ex-classmate's remark, the one Marion had made on the beach by the bar. Jane was honestly doing her best to put it all aside but it didn't work and Marion's words now haunted her like a loud and invisible nightmare.

"How did the two of you meet? Tanita and I were saying just before you arrived that you were a very cute couple."

The compliment caused Maura to grin. She didn't care whether it was the truth, she still took it as it came. A compliment was a compliment, no matter what. She set her glass down on the table and locked her eyes with Jamie's.

"I assumed that she was a prostitute." The silence that followed was not what Maura had hoped. She immediately went to correct herself and cleared her voice. "Which she wasn't. She wasn't a prostitute by then. Actually, she still isn't one now. She has never been..."

Hmm. Maybe that was what Jane meant by 'behave'. Maura cast a desperate glance at her friend but Jane was simply mortified. Her usual lovely olive skin was now as red as a brick. Tanita and Jamie looked confused, to say the least. And perplexed.

"What Mauri-to forgot to tell you is I am a detective, a homicide detective. But when we met, I was part of the drug unit and... I was going as an undercover that day." Jane swallowed hard. This wasn't how she had hoped the evening to go. "Therefore the misunderstanding. Then we got to work together and the rest... The rest belongs to history now."

And to lies. Sort of. Because if she and Maura had become friends, they had certainly not crossed the line that separated them from the romantic side.

"And you're a medical doctor?" Thankfully, Tanita seemed rather satisfied of Jane's answer. She turned to look at Maura. "I didn't know that homicide detectives worked with medical doctors."

The smile that played on Maura's lips never reached her eyes. She knew this moment way too well: it was when the evening would tip over, when the magic would get broken. Nobody wanted to meet a medical examiner, nobody wanted to talk about _it_. It was taboo. Even more when on vacations.

"I'm ahem... I am a pathologist."

The statement almost sounded incongruous. They were in what looked like the cliché of paradise: sun, palm trees, parties, joy all around. Then all of a sudden Maura brought up the darkest, gloomiest side of life.

Obviously talking about her job was not really appropriate right now.

"Oh. Of course, I'm sorry!" Jamie laughed loudly. "I should have guessed. I'm a vet and Tanita's a pre-school teacher."

Jamie's reaction stirred up a wave of warmth within Maura. At least both women didn't seem to be too appalled by the news. Or if they were then they simply feigned the opposite quite convincingly.

The conversation naturally headed towards lighter topics, from the reason why they were here to the last movies they had watched.

There was something strange about this dinner, something that bothered Maura and that yet made her feel incredibly fine.

It was the first time that she and Jane pretended to be in a relationship for so long and yet she didn't even have to force herself to find a way to get round the truth. All the memories she had built with Jane could easily be seen as a couple's ones.

And that was confusing.

It hadn't crossed her mind until now. Perhaps a third party would have laughed and told Maura there was nothing more obvious but she had honestly never seen things this way before. Jane was her friend, her best friend. Their bond was unique and powerful but she now wondered if this uniqueness she felt was really friendship and not something else.

Besides, what had happened to Jane? What had she thought about when she had accepted to have dinner with one of the few same-sex couples of the resort? This wasn't innocent.

This wasn't innocent at all.

Whatever the implicit statement that lay behind this was, it confused Maura a lot. Things looked easier in Boston. Why did Mexico have to make life blurrier?

"Do you have children?"

An innocent question yet it made Maura freeze. Tanita's sweet voice took her out of her daydreams. Maura shook her head rather vehemently and didn't even take the time to check Jane's reaction.

"No, we haven't."

"Oh, okay. And..." Tanita shrugged. She hesitated for a few seconds before talking anew. "Is it a personal choice? The reason why I'm asking is because it's our big topic: do we want to have children, who will try first... You know, all these things. So I was curious to know if you've gone through the same together already."

An invisible hand tightened its grip on Maura's heart. She suddenly felt bad to pretend to be in a relationship with another woman because she was not going through the same as Tanita and Jamie. She absolutely didn't know about the obstacles both women faced on a daily basis. Yet by omission, she pretended she did.

"I guess..." Jane's shaking voice betrayed the same delicate embarrassment as the one Maura felt. "I guess we've both thought about maternity already but we've been busy. Maybe it's a tad sad, I don't know. We have demanding jobs and we're... We like our respective careers. A child isn't in the picture right now. But who knows? One day, maybe."

At least she had been honest.

Maura stared in silence at Jane's hand as her friend let her fingers slide between hers. The touch was gentle, and loving. It spoke a thousand words with the subtlety that only a graceful silence could bring.

Jane was right. They had favored their jobs until now. Would they regret it one day? This was the kind of question Maura desperately tried to avoid. Thinking about the life choices she had made so far always made her feel bitter and insecure.

"You seem to be very happy together, and in love. Kids or not." Jamie winked at Jane. "So you've pretty much succeeded in the end anyway."

"And now you have a free helicopter ride waiting for you." Tanita burst out laughing. "Do you have any idea when you're going to enjoy your bingo prize?"

Jane and Maura gladly welcomed the change of topic. Maternity had hit too close to home, for a thousand quiet, different reasons. At least talking about their stay on the _Riviera Maya_ was harmless and pleasant.

"Actually, we haven't settled on a day yet." Maura turned her head to look at Jane. She let her left hand rub her friend's back before resting it on top of her shoulder. "Maybe this weekend. What do you think?"

"As long as I'm on the front seat..."

Applause made them all turn around. Someone was celebrating a birthday and mariachis had just walked in to sing traditional songs. Jane observed the scene from a distance and made a face: it wasn't that she didn't like being in the spotlight but she was kind of glad to not be celebrating her birthday at the resort.

The mariachis were really not her thing.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's note: thanks a lot for all the reviews and messages. The pace of the story might look slow but since I go with 3 chapters=one day in the story... I can hardly speed it up.**_

 **Chapter Ten**

"You could make an effort, Jane!" Maura rolled her eyes behind her Chanel sunglasses and turned her Nikon cam off. She settled further on her seat and crossed her arms on her chest to let her friend understand how upset she was. "You were a lot more thrilled when we booked this tour."

"That's because I didn't know it meant I'd have to wake up at 7am, Maura."

This was nothing but the truth. _Isla Mujeres_ was very close to the resort so Jane had assumed that their ferry wouldn't leave before 10.45am or something like that. Besides, the island itself was rather small: outside of the small town, the temple dedicated to Ixchel and a turtle farm, there was nothing special to do out there. Or at least nothing that they couldn't do at _Hidden Beach_.

"This isn't a reason to refuse to smile when I try to take a picture of you for your mother." Maura must have talked a bit loudly because her remark caused another vacationer to giggle. She looked down at her lap, suddenly embarrassed. "You will catch back on your sleep, tonight. Come on..."

Though according to Maura, Jane didn't need to catch back on her sleep. She actually slept so much that Maura started believing her friend had been a beaver in a past life. Or a bear. Or any animal who happened to hibernate.

"Here's your book, Maura."

Rosa from Orlando, Florida, turned around to give the aforesaid book to Maura. Maura politely nodded in return and began to leaf through it. The boat ride was rather short but since she was facing a grumpy Jane, she preferred to lose herself to solitary activities for the moment.

Yet she had measured the impact of Jane's bingo victory as soon as the two of them had reached the hotel shuttle earlier in the morning. The other vacationers had been thrilled to be part of the same excursion as Jane. Now Maura had to deal with whatever changes this new situation brought: it was something to be the so-called partner of a local celebrity.

"Oh!"

Maura's shriek made Jane jump. This was one effective way her friend had found to make sure that she would wake up once and for all. Jane landed perplexed eyes on Maura and frowned.

"Why are you tryin' to reach decibels that only the dolphins can hear?"

Maura barely paid attention to the sarcastic remark. What could she say? At least if Jane used sarcasm then it meant that she was now fully awake. They were in progress. She simply showed her friend the page she had stopped on instead and pointed to a specific paragrah.

"They have a turtle farm! We're going to see turtles!"

Jane blinked. One day, she would understand her friend's fascination for turtles and tortoises. One day. But for the moment it remained one of these mysteries she didn't know what to do of.

"Yes, they do. _Isla Mujeres_ , the Island of Women, does have a turtle farm; and a lighthouse. It's a small island, about 8 miles long... In Pre-Columbian times, the place was sacred to the Maya goddess of childbirth and medicine, Ixchel. When the Spanish arrived, they named it Island of Women because of the many images of goddesses."

The look Maura gave Jane couldn't be any prouder. It was honestly the first time that Jane shared such kind of historical knowledge with her. The roles had been reversed and Maura couldn't be happier. Jane's nerd side was finally showing.

"How come Ixchel caught your attention so much? Why her and not another god?"

Jane shrugged. Maura's question was fair. She had read the deities book on the very first day of their stay at _Hidden Beach_ and for some reason, Ixchel had been the one she had kept in mind the best.

"Dunno. Maybe because the island's close to our resort. And I kinda like how it sounds... Ixchel. It's exotic." The sea breeze turned a bit stronger which forced Jane to hold her straw hat tightly. She sunk on her seat. "Now let's go back to sleep."

…

"Sadly, Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 caused extensive damage..." Jane approached a very large stone and observed it for a while. "Mind you it's still here: it's the temple dedicated to Ixchel."

As soon as their ferry had reached the island, they had jumped on the pier and walked away from the other vacationers.

They didn't want to spend the day with them. This excursion was theirs and nobody else's. _Hidden Beach_ was nice but unless they stayed at their beachfront villa then they couldn't have a moment for themselves. _Isla Mujeres_ offered the perfect break they needed right now.

The ruins of the temple were located at the end of a path, after a whole series of modern statues and sculptures. The place was oddly empty though. Most of people had remained in the small town to go shopping.

Maura checked the guide book she had bought at a local bookstore.

"Goddess of the Moon and childbirth, linked to astronomical readings. The Mayas were a very bright civilization. They had understood many science facts. Believe it or not but we are currently standing at the most eastern tip of Mexico."

There was a lot of wind, a lot more than at the hotel resort. Maura turned around to look at the sea and the cliff path that passed below the temple: the view was breathtaking. She took a deep breath then closed her eyes to focus on the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

"Oh. My. God."

As far as she could remember, Maura had never heard Jane's voice shake so much. Intrigued, she opened an eye back and looked at her friend.

"What?"

"First of all, you have to remain calm."

Maura blinked. What was going on, now? What was Jane talking about? The 'remain calm' tip was really a very cheap one. Everybody knew that it didn't work at all. Worse: it was the best way to actually make someone panic.

"Why should I remain calm? Please tell me you haven't dropped my Nikon on the floor. Not again..."

"No, I haven't but I'm pretty sure you wish I had when I'll tell you that you're sort of standing next to some prehistorical monster. Maura, don't move. It... It'll probably just go away, by itself... Though I gotta let you know that it's totally starin' at you right now."

Had Jane smoked something more or less legal between the moment they had arrived on the island and now? What on Earth was she talking about? Maura turned her head to look in the opposite direction. She rolled her eyes then sighed.

"It is just an iguana, Jane. A big one, yes... But just an iguana. This isn't a T-Rex, it isn't going to attack me." Maura took her sunglasses off to observe the animal that was sunbathing on a rock a few feet away from her. "It can't attack me... Not with these cute little eyes. Aw... Look at it! Its look reminds me of Bass."

Jane had taken advantage of Maura's monologue to make a dozen of steps backwards. Just to be on the safe side. Just in case she had to run away and never come back.

"I'll never understand this fascination you have for reptiles. It's... Disgusting." Jane made a face. "C'mon, it's time to leave. It's lunchtime and if you want to go to the turtle farm then we can't afford to eat at 2pm. Our ferry leaves at 5.30pm."

Maura turned on her heels, grabbed her bag and peacefully walked towards a slightly petrified Jane. Her friend's reaction was particularly entertaining but if Maura didn't want to spend the rest of a rather lovely day with a grumpy Jane so she knew better than to make any allusion to the ridiculousness of the situation.

She joyfully passed an arm under Jane's and started walking up the path that led to the main road instead.

"I have heard that _Isla Mujeres_ has some of the best seafood restaurants of the area." Maura smiled at Jane. "I am quite looking forward to seeing that!"

Their face-to-face lunch would be a tad strange after the dinner they had shared with Jamie and Tanita the day before.

Maura still had to properly analyze the feelings that had overwhelmed her by then. The issue was that her brain refused to cooperate. It had shut down, as if it wanted nothing but her to simply seize the day with Jane.

Perhaps it was because of the context, because of the ephemeral character of the excursion on the island.

They reached a small square by a very tiny harbor. Each little house held a miniature seafood restaurant. They chose the one in the sun and sat at a table on the terrace. The place was not too crowded and looked rather authentic.

"It's stange to suddenly see something else than the resort." Jane looked around her. "It's strange to see people can actually wear clothes _before_ 5.45pm."

Her comment made Maura laugh lightly. Jane was right. They had arrived a few days earlier only and they nonetheless already had their habits at _Hidden Beach_. She was even convinced that going back to the villa by the end of the afternoon would sound like home. To an extend.

It was a strange feeling indeed but a comforting one as well.

"Jane! Maura! Helloooo..."

Martin, Jane's bingo guardian angel, and his wife Patricia waved at them from the sidewalk. Maura discreetly nodded back while Jane fist pumped at Martin before winking at him.

"That guy, I swear..." She looked back at Maura. "Too bad he's married 'cause he'd been perfect for you: he works for a burial service."

By the heavy silence that followed, Jane understood that Maura hadn't taken the joke as well as she had hoped to.

Thankfully their waiter arrived to take their orders which gave Jane a chance to escape from whatever remark Maura was about to make.

"I am not looking for anyone, anyway." Maura waited for the staff member to leave them alone resume her talking. She locked her eyes with Jane's dark ones and let a smirk light up her graceful features. "Why would I be looking for someone? I have you."

Jane went to say something but decided to remain quiet instead. She blinked as uncertainty darkened the lovely cloud-less sky of the day she was having. What did Maura mean, exactly?

"Of course. _Hidden Beach_ is a couples-only resort." She bent over and furtively grabbed Maura's hand. "I'm glad to have you too, darling."

Except the funny tone Jane used never properly reached her heart. It gathered in this little corner of her head where a dozen of other incomprehensible feelings and reactions remained instead. Even her laugh fell a little flat.

Something was happening, something she wasn't sure to be able to handle.

Maura put her sunglasses on and pretended to observe the ribbon of blue opposite the sidewalk, beyond the sail boats. The smile on her lips hurt. She swallowed hard.

"Yeah."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, messages and suggestions.**_

 **Chapter Eleven**

Maura could hardly say what pleased her the most: the fact she was currently surrounded by turtles or the fact Jane made an effort to be as interested as she, Maura, was in the whole thing. Her friend's behavior was touching, and honest.

It was thrilling.

At least it made up for their lunch. It wasn't that things hadn't gone smoothly but Maura couldn't help feeling slightly bitter about it. She had enjoyed food and the conversation she had had with Jane but something was missing and this something started weighing too much on her shoulders.

She needed to think about something else. She needed to go with the flow and enjoy the time being. She had wasted too much time already with blurry what-ifs and incomprehensible emotional analysis.

At least the baby turtles she was now facing were the sweetest excuse one could find to put aside whatever she may have been feeling. She squatted to be at eye-level with the animals and followed their swim with her eyes.

She smiled, instinctively.

"This is why I love them so much. They look peaceful, incredibly serene. Their movements in the water are graceful..." Maura looked at Jane who had squatted next to her. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Jane nodded. She was actually positively surprised by the turtle farm. Her fears to enter a marine life Disneyland of some sort had vanished as soon as Paloma, their guide, had showed up in the large patio of the farm to start the visit.

Paloma was a marine biology student and had started volunteering at the farm when she had turned fourteen. She knew what she was talking about: she was actually passionate about it. It made a huge difference to Jane's eyes.

"We currently have 125,000 turtles at the farm, from hatchlings to adults. We release them into the Caribbean sea from July to November. The farm offers them a well-needed protection because way too many people still kill them. As you will see once we go back inside, we also introduce them to other fishes to make sure they know the environment that will be theirs once they leave us."

The group started walking towards the next pool. Maura cast a very last glance at the baby turtles then reluctantly stood back on her feet.

This visit was nice because it brought a very different dimension to their Mexican stay. It wasn't about leisure anymore but being responsible towards the environment. She liked this educational part of their trip. A lot. And she was glad to see that Jane had actually suggested it.

"Why did you get Bass in the first place?" Hands in the pockets of her jean shorts, Jane resumed her walking. Paloma had started explaining the different stages of feeding a few feet away. "Should an African spurred tortoise live in Boston?"

Maura didn't take the remark as badly as Jane feared. The question was fair, especially since she hadn't stopped agreeing with Paloma's speech about how important keeping turtles in their natural habitat was. An African tortoise had no reason to be in Massachusetts in the first place. It was supposed to live in northern Africa, in the Sahara Desert.

"It was love at first sight."

The smile that played on Jane's lips turned out to be rather timid.

For some reason, she wasn't sure that her friend was talking about Bass. There was something in Maura's tone of voice, something in her eyes, that pushed Jane to have doubts. Yet she preferred to not insist and looked at Paloma to listen to whatever the guide was now saying.

End of their conversation.

The rest of the visit went fast, too fast to Maura's taste. Before she had time to realize anything, she was standing by the door of the little shop, a bag in her hand. They barely had an hour left to go back to the small town and catch their ferry.

Her lips formed an "o" of surprise as Jane came into sight.

"Oh my god. You have bought the entire shop!" Maura burst out laughing as she saw Jane walk towards her with a dozen of bags in her hands. "You told me you simply wanted postcards. What happened?"

Jane shrugged. What could she say? At least her money had gone to something that made sense, a lot of sense. The turtle farm had honestly touched her but her stupid pride prevented her from saying it out loud.

"They have great stuff for TJ..."

Which wasn't a lie per se even if she wasn't sure that she would offer all the cuddly toy animals to her nephew once she would be back to Boston. There was one or two baby turtles she liked way too much to give them away to anyone.

"Hey, girls! Where are you going to? You can't leave without posing for the _Turtle Farm Visitors Picture_!"

What was that again? Jane turned around and stared with great perplexity at Paloma who had literally run after them to stop them. Jane dropped her bags on the floor and cast a glance at Maura.

Bad idea: her friend seemed to be just as clueless as she was.

"What the hell is that shit?"

Maura shrugged as discreetly as she could. Paloma was now way too close to them to not overhear whatever she could say. At least Jane had murmured her question between clenched teeth.

"I don't know. I came for the turtles...?"

Paloma finally reached them. She passed an arm around Jane's shoulders then pointed to a corner of the patio where a wooden sign with the logo of the farm had been hung on a palm tree.

"This is our souvenir photo corner. Don't worry, it is free. We just take the picture then send it to your email... And upon your agreement, we put it on her website. It's important as it shows our farm is a key-spot on the island. Come with me!"

Maura locked her eyes with her friend's then shrugged. They couldn't turn down Paloma, it wouldn't be nice and even less polite as the turtle farm was a friendly place and they had really enjoyed the visit.

They quietly followed the guide to the appropriate spot then dropped their bags on the floor to strike the pose more or less convincingly. Paloma turned her cam on and winked.

"Awesome, girls! Now kiss."

Jane swallowed hard. Paloma had a thick accent and her English was a tad broken at times but sadly Jane was certain to have heard the guide's last remark right. She opened her mouth to ask Paloma to repeat her sentence but Maura turned out to be faster.

"What?"

Maura took her sunglasses off and squinted her eyes at Paloma. If she had enjoyed the young girl's laugh until now, she was quite close to ultimately change her mind. Kisses were not part of the visit, she hadn't signed for that.

"Tanita and Jamie told me you were a couple too. All our couples kiss on the picture. C'mon, girls! You'll be happy to get the picture when I send it to you."

Jane held back a growl. Happy? There was nothing less sure, actually. In a perfect mimetism with Maura, she began to vehemently shake her head at Paloma.

Of course, some vacationers from _Hidden Beach_ had joined their farm tour as the island was small and it was okay if everyone thought that she and Maura were a couple. But there was no way she would go as far as kissing her friend.

"At least on the cheek! Gosh, Americans are so prude...!"

Paloma burst out laughing anew. This was slightly embarrassing, especially since a small group of tourists was now looking at them rather amused.

On the cheek? Alright. This was a compromise Jane and Maura could accept. What was a kiss on the cheek anyway, apart from something friendly? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Without warning each other, they both turned around and leaned over. Regreful synchronisation: by turning around at the same time, their lips didn't aim at each other's cheek but at their mouths.

"Perfect!" Paloma took advantage of Jane and Maura's confusion to take the picture. The unplanned lip lock kiss had made them freeze. Literally. "What a cute couple you are."

Maura turned out to be the first one to react. She put her sunglasses on anew and rushed to her bag without looking at Jane. She then hurried towards the exit; without a word.

…

It was just a lip lock kiss. An innocent, accidental lip lock kiss.

They hadn't roughly made out. Many people shared such tiny, insignificant kisses on a daily basis and it didn't mean anything special either. Maura wasn't a touchy feely person but her latent panic over the lip lock surprised her a lot because she wasn't prude. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It was just a kiss. Just a kiss.

"Do you want to... To have a shower first?" She took her shoes off and barely dared to look up at Jane. They had just arrived at their villa after a very quiet boat ride. "I can wait if you want to."

Jane shook her head then walked out on the terrace. She seemed to be just as embarrassed as her friend.

"Nah, that's fine. You go first."

Good. Maura didn't insist and rushed to the top floor of their little house. She locked the bathroom door then leaned against it. Her shaking fingers brushed her lips.

Their respective embarrassed reaction was ridiculous. They hadn't done it on purpose and there was nothing harmful about it either. Then why did Maura suddenly feel the urge to burst into tears?

As her eyes began to burn, she closed the distance that separated her from the tub and let the water run. She needed more than just a shower. She needed time for herself, time to calm down and start behaving as the adult she was.

Except her lips were hot and the sensation that the kiss had stirred up in her lower stomach was still extremely vivid.

This was the actual problem: not the kiss in itself but the storm of feelings it had risen within her body.

They hadn't exchanged a word on their way to the small harbor of _Isla Mujeres_. Something had got broken the moment they had left the turtle farm, something that they didn't want to name. Something that had been there for quite a while but their cowardice was such that they had pretended the exact opposite.

And now they paid the price: they hadn't fooled anyone.

Maura let the hot water of her bath wrap her up. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the serene sensation she was now feeling. Her meditation got interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She grabbed the device and opened the mail she had just got.

Paloma had sent her the picture. Already.

She stared at it for a long while, taking the time to observe its details with great fascination as if she were hypnotized by it. It was just a lip lock kiss, an accidental one.

Yet she had to admit that, as Paloma said in her message, she and Jane looked lovely. It seemed so right.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews; the website was down, therefore my impossibility to update the fic earlier (in case any of you was wondering where the hell I was ;) ).**_

 **Chapter Twelve**

It was a bit coward but Jane was still convinced that this karaoke evening at the swimming-pool bar was the best thing that could happen to her and Maura. They needed a diversion after their unplanned lip lock kiss at the turtle farm of _Isla Mujeres_ if only to relax a little before the embarrassment their move had stirred up.

Maura had taken her time when she had retreated to the bathroom to have a shower and Jane hadn't been any faster when her turn had come. The way they desperately tried to avoid each other was ridiculous and absolutely not helpful. On the contrary. It did nothing but highlight the tension that kept on building between the two of them. Going out to spend the evening with other vacationers was a great escape. It wasn't the solution they needed, Jane knew it, but she still saw it as an opportunity to stop feeling dizzy.

If she wanted to be honest then Jane had to admit that the issue didn't lie in the kiss but in the fact she had immediately thought that she and Maura's first kiss had sadly been accidental. The words 'first' and 'sadly' confused her. They had come up by themselves, with the sharp blurriness that only reality can carry.

Both were wrong for all the things they quietly implied. Yet she had no hold over them.

"Jane!" Tanita waved at her. "I'm so glad you've joined, tonight. Where's Maura? She's not coming with you? Karaoke nights at _Hidden Beach_ are said to be fantastic."

The smile that played on Jane's lips didn't reach her eyes: her level of enthusiasm was definitely not as high as Tanita's. As much as she considered this evening as an escape, she absolutely despised karaoke. She wouldn't sing, anyway. Nope. She would remain on her seat instead and drink her life away while making fun of the contestants.

"She's on her way, no worries. We've come across Lisa on our way here and she had something to say to Maura."

This had actually piqued Jane's curiosity but since things were a little awkward between her and her friend, she hadn't asked for any detail and had simply announced instead that she would go book a table by the bar.

"Jane! You'd better sing _Eye of the Tiger_!"

It was a first but nonetheless a justified one: Jane squinted her eyes at Martin and pouted, obviously not as convinced as he was.

"Or not." She walked with him to a table that was still available. "I'm here to cheer for you, buddy. Give it all! I'm great at bingo, not at karaoke."

She would die on the scene if someone ever forced her to actually sing. But then this wouldn't happen. Why? Because she was a detective and she could threat pretty much anyone if necessary; no matter it wasn't very legal.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hey. I got us Margarita's. They're on their way." Maura timidly sat at their table and politely waved at a few people. "They want you to sing, don't they?"

Jane nodded. Maura was unable to lie but she had quite a lot of talent to avoid certain subjects of conversation when needed. It was relieving.

"Yeah and I'm afraid they'll end up being disappointed because I'm not gonna sing anything. I prefer to invest all my money-bar bracelet in cocktails instead. I'm not Celine Dion. This won't happen."

The reference caused Maura to raise an eyebrow. She thanked their waiter as he brought the drinks and grabbed her glass right away to take a sip.

"Celine Dion? I think you're more the Janis Joplin kind of person."

It was a compliment in disguise, a very sweet one. Of course, Jane was a lot more into rock n' roll and Maura knew it. But the awkwardness of the day was such that Jane preferred to hide her emotions behind a curtain of jokes instead.

"Minus the drug part, thanks."

It had touched her though. Maura's comparison had honestly touched her but Jane couldn't let her friend know for it would sound too intimate; too personal.

They needed to put some distance between the two of them. The kiss they had shared had really damaged whatever game they seemed to love playing. It was now time for them to feign.

…

It was funny how light life seemed to be after four cocktails. Maura looked at her wrist to check the amount of beads remaining on her money-bar bracelet. She winced.

Alright. Maybe they were closer to six cocktails than the four ones she had first assumed to have drunk with Jane.

"Oh boy." Her hazel eyes widened as she realized that the next singer was Martin. She leaned over and whispered in Jane's ear. "Ten bucks he's going to choose a ballad."

Jane giggled. She wasn't drunk, maybe slightly tipsy, but alcohol had certainly helped her lose all her inhibitions. She couldn't care less about the kiss she had shared with Maura at _Isla Mujeres_ a few hours earlier anymore. As a matter of fact, she would gladly do it again if necessary. What was a kiss, anyway? Even kids did it.

"So..." Martin adjusted his glasses on top of his nose. He patiently waited for the applause to cease. "I dedicate this song to the one and only lovely couple from Boston: Jane and Maura. This one's for you, ladies."

All of a sudden, thirty pairs of eyes turned to Jane and Maura while the same amount of heads tilted and a general "aw" rose in the night. This would have been very embarrassing if they hadn't drunk so many cocktails in the first place. Thus Jane simply fist pumped and winked at her bingo guardian angel as Maura sent him a flying kiss.

Everything was fine, light and easy.

The bar area turned quiet until the first notes of the song rose in the night. Then everyone laughed lightly as Martin began to sing.

" _When I get older losing my hair, many years from now..._ "

Maura cast a glance at Jane: her friend looked just as amused she happened to be. She leaned over to make sure that Jane would hear her over the music.

"I've got an upgrade. If you hadn't showed up in my life then I'm pretty sure I would have got _Eleanor Rigby_ , not _When I'm Sixty-Four_!"

Maura's sense of humor caused Jane to laugh but she soon stopped as a wave of bitterness passed underneath her skin. Maura had tried to be funny but her remark was nonetheless very true. When they had met, Maura was a very lonely person; so far from the woman who was sitting next to Jane right now.

"I'll make sure you'll never be a _Eleanor Rigby_ ever again."

With a surge of boldness coming from the bottom of her heart, Jane locked her eyes with Maura's and grabbed her friend's hand to hold it tightly. It was their first real eye-contact since their lip lock kiss.

Martin's cover of The Beatles song turned out to be a success to the point he decided to sing another one for his wife just after.

Jane held the promise she had made to herself and managed to stay away from any so-called stage and microphone.

Though she didn't really make fun of anyone. She actually enjoyed every performance with a bare honesty. There was something sweet about people's song choices, something quite touching too.

They stayed until the end of the karaoke night then headed back to their beachfront villa holding each other by the arm.

A warm joy had invaded them, probably carried by the vapors of alcohol. Yet they were aware of everything, perfectly aware of giggling away whatever comment one or the other had made.

Jane tried to catch her breath as she reached the door of the villa. She grabbed her key-card and cleared her voice. She wasn't drunk but she definitely needed to focus a bit to be able to open and walk in. Maura humming _When I'm Sixty-Four_ next to her didn't help much.

For some reason, it caused Jane to laugh over and over. Maura was completely off-key but her rendition was the cutest thing Jane had ever seen.

Jane managed to open the door after her second attempt. She slightly lost her balance while walking in for she had leaned on the door rather heavily. She burst out laughing. Maura followed her in and dropped her phone on a small table before stepping into the living-room.

" _If I'd been out till quarter three, would you lock the door for me?_ " Maura's voice rose quietly in the villa. She took her sandals off and grabbed Jane's hands to start dancing on the song. " _Will you still need me, will you still feed me_..."

Jane didn't need more to join in. She joyfully followed Maura's pace and sang along just as quietly as her friend. Their laughter melted into the lyrics before sweetly echoing their smiles and the sparkle in their eyes.

The embarrassment they had felt towards each other a few hours earlier had completely disappeared now. The moment was liberating; extremely sweet.

" _You'll be older too_..." Jane made Maura twirl which caused her to burst out laughing. " _And if you say the word_..."

Maura tried to find back her balance by grabbing Jane by the waist which caused her to make a few steps backwards. The back of her knees hit the couch. She couldn't care less. Her hazel eyes looked for Jane's dark ones instead.

" _I could stay with you_..."

Jane noticed a shift in Maura's tone of voice as she sang the lyrics. Maura's voice had turned hoarse, just as flirty as the wink she gave Jane before dragging her friend in another twirl.

Except Maura miscalculated the distance with the couch. She lost her balance and dragged Jane down in her fall. They both burst out laughing.

" _Send me a postcard, drop me a line, stating point of view_..." Just because they were not up on their feet anymore didn't mean that they had to stop singing. Jane managed to roll on her side to make sure that she wouldn't crush Maura since she had landed on top of her in their fall. " _Indicate precisely what you mean to say_..."

In a fluid movement, still humming along, Maura passed on top of Jane and leaned over to make eye-contact with her friend. Her smile perfectly matched Jane's, now.

" _Yours sincerely, Wasting Away_..."

They lost the pace of the song the moment Maura sat on top of Jane, the moment her blond hair brushed her friend's tanned cleavage. Everything slowed down, the passing of time as well as their humming.

Maura leaned over a bit more and stopped as her lips came only a few inches away from Jane's. She locked her eyes with her friend's anew but she didn't wink. Not this time.

They had stopped laughing. The innocence of the last minutes had got replaced by something else, by a palpable tension both felt.

" _Mine for evermore_..."

The whispered lyrics died against Jane's lips as Maura finally closed the invisible distance between the two of them and captured her friend's lips in a long awaited, suggestive and reciprocated kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.**_

 **Chapter Thirteen**

The first thing Jane realized as she opened her eyes turned out to be her thirst. She was thirsty, very thirsty. She blinked: no headache, no hangover. Good. Perfect. Yet the cocktails she had drunk the evening before now made her crave gallions of water.

And then it did strike her.

 _The evening before._ Maura.

"Maura..."

Jane's whisper died covered by the rustling of the bedsheet as she rolled on her side to look at her friend. Or at least to technically look at her friend because it was where she had seen her one more time before falling asleep. Except Maura was nowhere to be seen.

Jane swallowed hard. Maura was gone. They had made love and now she was gone.

Her heart immediately sped up its pace as a strong panic invaded her. This couldn't be happening, not now. As much as she had all the reasons in the world to do it, Maura couldn't have run away just because she would have freaked out or because... Jane winced in mental pain. She hadn't been _that_ bad, had she?

Panicked, Jane sat up in bed and let a moan of despair pass her lips. She ran a hand through her messy hair and rolled her eyes. She really didn't need this kind of stress. This wasn't what one called vacations.

A weird noise that came from the foot of the bed interrupted her panicked wonders. She immediately looked into said direction and squinted her eyes at the human form that lay there.

"What..."

Jane raised an eyebrow. What was Maura doing there? She was all upside down yet peacefully sleeping while her left arm hung out of the bed.

Well, at least she hadn't tried to escape.

It was a positive sign, wasn't it? Jane nodded at herself. Yes, it had to be. After long seconds of a quiet observation, Jane finally reacted. Somehow. As a matter of fact, it only happened because a thousand unanswered questions pushed her to get up. She quietly walked to the bathroom on her tiptoes and closed the door behind her.

She needed to have a shower. The water drops would calm her down and maybe then she would manage to consider the situation with wisdom.

That last word made her chuckle. Wisdom, really? This was the last thing that described her; especially when it came to her rather pitiful love life. She was anything but wise.

Yet this time she had to make an effort because there _was_ a situation. She couldn't deny it. She and Maura had slept together. Several times, if she wanted to be precise.

The kiss they had shared on the couch had quickly led to their respective clothes to land on the floor and before she had had a chance to realize what was happening, Jane had found herself overwhelmed by Maura's expert hand caresses and the warmth of her friend's lips on her shivering skin.

She swallowed hard: this was not the kind of reminiscence she needed right now.

Alright: back to the shower. Jane went to undress but her fingers hit nothing but her bare skin. Of course. What would she have put on clothes for?

And when?

Between the moment they had caught back their breath on the couch and when they had eagerly decided to resume their carnal exploration as soon as they had reached the stairs that led to the top-floor bedroom? Ugh. Jane sighed.

Without a word, she stepped into the shower and closed her eyes as the first water drops caressed her face. This was it: this was the soothing sensation she absolutely needed.

She didn't have to panic. As a matter of fact, she didn't want to. Yes, she had made love with a woman – which was a first – and yes this woman happened to be Maura - which was logically a first too - but against all expectations, she assumed it.

Her only uncertainty lay in Maura's upcoming reaction to it.

No matter what they decided, something had irremediably changed within their relationship and they would have to accept it. It wasn't a misunderstanding, even less a mistake. They had wanted it.

Alcohol had simply helped them to overcome hundreds of untold things.

Jane turned the water off and grabbed a towel. She then found a bikini in the beach totebag she had dropped in the bathroom the day before and put it on before walking out into the bedroom with a large glass of water in her hand.

She squatted by Maura. Her friend was still sleeping lying naked on her stomach. The bedsheet barely covered up to her lower back. The immense serenity that lit up her features stirred up a warm sensation in Jane's lower stomach, the kind of sensation that would stick to her for an endless amount of time.

…

"Jane?"

Maura opened her eyes. Bad idea. The sun blinded her almost immediately. At the mercy of a storm of moans, she turned around before realizing that the bed was empty. Oh.

"Over here."

Ah.

She looked in the direction of her friend's voice. Jane had settled on the large outdoor mattress. Maura could only see the back of her friend's nape from where she lay. Jane had put one of her straw hats on but a few rebel dark curls had escaped from it and they were now dancing in the wind, brushing her tanned shoulders with a strong sensuality.

Maura sat up. Clothes, she needed clothes. Yes they were staying at a nudist resort and she honestly could have done without the mere fabric on her skin but she wasn't sure Jane would feel comfortable with it. Especially after what had happened the night before. She knew her friend: this would be a lot of intimacy within a short amount of time.

Her eyes landed on the cheap bright pink shirt Jane had won at bingo along the helicopter ride. It was ugly but it would do the trick. For once, her priorities were not fashion centered.

Her silent steps led her to the balcony. Without looking at her friend, she timidly sat on the mattress and stared at the Caribbean sea in the distance.

"Are you okay?"

Unusual question given the context but then Maura hadn't developed social skills during her sleep either. Sadly. Besides, she really wanted an answer because she knew that it had been a first for Jane and the impact it had on their friendship was huge.

"Yeah..."

Maura waited, and waited. In vain. A 'yeah' was all she would get from Jane? Sure, she was not the talkative type in the morning but such monosyllabic answer didn't reassure Maura. Not much. Alright, just a tid bit. Very, very tiny.

"I am very pleased to learn about it."

Jane burst out laughing.

"This is the most formal thing someone has ever told me after... I mean... You know..." So this was where Jane's boldness limits stopped. Alright: she had reached them rather quickly. She looked down at the mattress, feeling a bit defeated, then locked her eyes with Maura's hazel ones. "I don't bite, you know."

Maura looked at the space that separated her from Jane.

It was all implicit. Everything was implicitly being told, from their absence of denial concerning the night they had spent together to the blurry path they were now about to take. Maybe proper words would be needed at some point but not for the moment. Their respective attitudes spoke for them.

Jane cleared her voice and began to nervously play with the hem of the mattress. She held back a falsely casual yawn. She really wasn't good at this.

"I mean if you want to."

Nobody ever saw Maura's smile because it broke the light speed record. Jane's timidity echoed in the least of her moves, as discreet as these happened to be.

"Would you like to?"

If they kept on replying by questions, neither of them would have made a move by the end of the day. It was getting a tad ridiculous. Sweet but ridiculous.

"I thought you had run away." A forceful laugh slid on Jane's lips. "When I woke up, you weren't there. I mean, not by my side. So I thought you were gone." Maura's incredulity pushed her to keep on talking. "It'd've not been a first, ya know."

Jane's confession opened a burning wound within Maura's heart causing thus an explosion of feelings: embarrassment melted in anger before incomprehension rose in the air to transform in bitterness. Jane had never told her about this.

"Well, their miss."

It is only when her hand brushed Jane's that Maura realized she now had properly sat on the mattress. She had remained on the edge of it until now, unsure of what Jane wanted from her. The situation was still confusing but it was nonetheless getting clearer; little by little.

"You don't have to say that be-..."

"I say it because I mean it." Maura blushed. Her tone had been authoritative. She let a few seconds pass by before talking again only with a softer voice this time. "If I ran away from you, my life would stop making sense. This isn't something I... Something I can do."

That was one way to put things in perspective. Maura bit the inside of her cheek to hold back a moan of despair. What was she thinking about? If Jane hadn't freaked out until now, chances were it would happen within the next minutes. This was the reason why important conversations shouldn't be addressed first thing in the morning. Gosh, where were these golden rules when we needed them?

"Okay."

There it came: the typical Jane Rizzoli panic.

"Listen..." Maura rubbed her temples and finally made eye-contact with Jane. She forgot her own insecurities, the way her hands were shaking and how fast her heart was beating. She wasn't prepared for this but she couldn't renounce. Not now. "What if we just stayed here this morning and enjoy the time being? What if we just... What if we just stopped thinking... You know, for once? What if..."

Not entirely satisfied of her remark, Maura moved closer to Jane and took her in arms. Her leg slid between her friend's and settled there with a strange logic.

Jane didn't push her away. On the contrary. She let her do and somewhat found the courage to lose herself in the quiet contemplation of Maura's hazel eyes.

"And there's no running away, no missed opportunities." Maura smiled as her fingers brushed Jane's cheek. She hadn't realized how much she had craved this touch again. "It's just the two of us and the quietness of the morning."

In a perfect game of mirror with what had happened the night before, Jane leaned over and captured Maura's lips in a long, deep kiss. It felt right. An ounce of relief escaped from her heart then came to die against her friend's smile. They broke the kiss but remained in each other's arms.

"Alright."

Jane's voice brushed the crook of Maura's neck through a delicate whisper. She closed her eyes and started succumbing to the sweet torpor of the morning in Maura's arms.

Life was being nice, all of a sudden. Peaceful and warm. Like a ribbon of blue sky after an immensity of stormy clouds.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author's note: thank you very much for your reviews and messages, I'm really glad to see you're enjoying this sunny story.**_

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Of course, Maura had noticed how Angela's smile had frozen but since she didn't trust her instinct then she had simply assumed that she was seeing things where there was nothing to see.

Talking to Jane's mother after the events of the last hours was, in itself, rather delicate, after all. Thankfully, the socialite sphere she was pretty much born within had taught Maura to behave no matter the different scenarios her peculiar brain could come up with.

"So everything's okay...?"

Yes, everything was okay. More than okay, actually. Maura nodded at Angela as reassuringly as she could. Perhaps her attitude sounded a bit forced, especially the way she remained still on her seat, but Maura was honestly doing her best. And it wasn't easy.

Perhaps Maura's concern had no reason to be but she felt guilty towards Angela because of what had happened, because of that brand new intimacy she and Jane now shared. She was there, on the beach, casually chatting with the matriarch as if nothing had changed while the truth couldn't be any more different. It made her feel bad, very bad.

She hated it.

"Maura..." Angela leaned over the computer and squinted her eyes at the screen. She looked worried. "You haven't tried some... You know... Illegal things, have you?"

What kind of question was that? Maura frowned and suspiciously looked at her cocktail. Jane had been requisitioned by half of the resort to supervise the barbecue lunch on the beach because she was pretty much a local celebrity by now so Maura had decided to take advantage of it to enjoy a cocktail at the bar in the meantime.

And if a Skype call to Boston had seemed a good idea, at first, there was nothing less sure now.

"I am pretty sure that Tequila is legal in Mexico, Angela."

"What?! I know it is! No..." Angela exchanged a few words with someone who happened to be off-screen before focusing back on Maura. "It's just you have this... Weird smile. Don't take it bad, Maura, you're pretty but... It's the sheepish smile. Have I missed something? You look... It's like you're on cloud nine."

Needless to say that Maura didn't need more to make the aforesaid smile disappear within a second. She looked down at her chest as her heart began to beat way too fast.

It couldn't pierce through her skin, this was scientifically, absolutely impossible. She had repeated it to Jane on multiple occasions when they had watched _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_ together: the villain could not go get anyone's heart like that. Yet the pace of her current heartbeats put it all back in question, now.

"Oh I'm glad you're happy. It's just... Have you met someone? That'd explain the lovey dovey look!"

The lovey dovey look? Maura went to grab her sunglasses but finally renounced. This would look very suspicious. And impolite.

"Ahem..." Her eyes landed on the group that had gathered by the barbecue. Jane and the hotel staff were the only ones who weren't naked. "Well, we... We... Yes, we have met many people."

At least the dead-angle she had found would prevent Angela from seeing what was really happening on the beach. There was no way she, Maura, would join Jane in her Skype call fiascos. Especially since she was currently calling Jane's mother at the BPD.

"I didn't mean you and Jane. I meant you, Maura." Angela rolled her eyes anew. "I know you're close to my daughter but it's not a reason to act like the two of you are siamese. Go have some fun with the Latino guys. What do they look like? I know you have a thing for the Mediterranean type."

Alright, now this was very embarrassing.

"I don't have a _thing_ for the Mediterranean type! I like..." Maura's eyes stopped on Jane for brief seconds. The current irony of her life was a tad annoying: Jane was not really the Nordic type either. "I like all kinds of types."

Was it any better? Absolutely not. Maura's cheeks turned red as she realized that what she had just said could honestly be mistaken for something else. It wasn't her fault but whenever she opened her mouth to speak with Angela, nothing came up but terrible innuendos. She was bad at hiding things, very bad.

"Oh, I know. You're very open-minded." Disappointment showed on Angela's face. She had obviously hoped for some juicy confessions but had just realized that she wouldn't get any right now. "And how's Jane?"

"Oh, she's fine. We've never been so close." And there it was: another innuendo. Maura's hazel eyes widened in panic. She swallowed hard and started stuttering. "I mean ahem... She ahem... We... It's ahem... It's... It's fun, here."

It wasn't a fiasco but a disaster. Maura bit her lower lip: this was what happened when one made fun of a friend because of a disastrous Skype call. She honestly wasn't doing any better right now.

"Good. Can I talk to her? Where is she? What is she doing?"

Hmm. Tough questions.

A pout formed on Maura's lips as she looked up and focused on the barbecue spot. Hesitation grew within herself: there were some things she simply couldn't say to Angela. The fact she and Jane had slept together was one of them, the fact Jane was currently joking with a dozen of naked people was another one.

"Well... She's our little super star here now. Since she won this bingo game, she's very... Ahem... Very popular. So she's quite busy right now but let's see if I can get her on me. I mean with you. Here." Maura waved at Jane. "She's actually preparing a barbecue for everyone. It's a very friendly place."

A timid smile lit up Angela's features. She had never been to a resort herself so she didn't really know how it worked, out there. Yet she was glad to learn that her daughter was having fun nonetheless.

"See? I knew I'd have sent her to summer camp. She'd have had a blast, there. But she always refused to go. Janie can be a little shy."

Jane approached. She had tied her sarong around her waist and wore a classic bikini top. The fact she had a potholder on each hand as well as a large fork oddly contrasted with her clothing style. She leaned over and waved at her mother.

"Hey, ma'..."

She and Maura hadn't really planned on leaving the beachfront villa any time soon but after five minutes of Jane-Rizzoli cheering from the small bridge that led to their suite, they had renounced to their intimacy to check what was going on downstairs.

They hadn't been disappointed: two staff members and six or seven vacationers wanted nothing but Jane to be in charge of the barbecue so they all had gathered by the villa to come and get her.

What would have happened if she and Maura had stayed in all day long? Probably not so much, or at least in the diversity of their activities. They hadn't remained quiet in each other's arms for a very long time on the outdoor mattress. Within a few minutes, the frenzy of their kisses had given life back to the delicate reminiscence of their night. They had made love again, twice.

It had felt right.

"What is it that you always refuse to cook when you're in Boston but that you accept it right away when you're in Mexico with strangers? Besides, go put on some clothes! A barbecue's dangerous. You're half-naked, Jane!"

Typical Angela-Rizzoli hello back.

The remark caused Maura to choke on her cocktail. She made some room on her seat for Jane to sit down but Jane's mind was obviously not focused on any Skype call. Her current mission was the barbecue and she didn't want to disappoint.

"What? But... Hey, wait." Jane squinted her eyes at the screen and pointed to someone behind Angela with her potholder. "Is that Chang behind you?" Angela nodded. "Good. Put her on. I need to talk to her for a sec'..."

Uh oh. This wasn't good at all.

Second time in a row Maura told herself that she shouldn't trust her instinct but since the first timee had been a failure, she needed a change of strategy. Her hang grabbed Jane's forearm rather firmly.

It was strange to move around in public after what had happened between the two of them. Maura couldn't help thinking about it. Yet the truth was that life was simply going on. Nothing had actually changed, nothing had crumbled. The world hadn't stopped turning.

She and Jane simply didn't know yet if they could or should bring a touch of intimacy to their bond in public but the rest was still here: their interactions were still exactly the same.

"Don't do that, Jane."

Especially with this big, menacing fork in her hand.

Angela turned around and asked Maura's assistant to approach. She took advantage of the shift to momentarily give her seat to Susie as she walked off-cam to get a cup of coffee. It barely took Jane a micro-second to react.

"Chang!" Jane ignored Maura's moan of despair. "Where the hell did you send us, exactly? Do you know what this place has? Or better said, has _not_?"

Jane was now hissing through clenched teeth. She was talking to the laptop screen like a mad woman of some sort. With her sarong around her waist, her bikini top and the two potholders covering her hands, the sight was quite... Unique.

Maura had definitely given up. She had grabbed her cocktail and was now sipping on it, conscious of the disaster she was about to witness. Was it possible to kill someone via a Skype call? She should get an answer soon.

"It says 'optional'. I see that you've opted for the clothes choice, Detective Rizzoli and I respect your decision. I'm sure everyone does at _Hidden Beach._ Nobody forces you to do anything. It's a very light, friendly spirit."

Jane snorted and subconsciously tightened her grip on the large fork. So Susie knew it. Of course, she did. Who was Jane kidding? Susie Chang had known about the resort being a nudist one since the very beginning. She had sent them there on purpose, to have fun.

From a distance.

"You'll pay for it."

A light laugh slid on Susie's lips. She raised a hand in the air and apologetically shook her head.

"Actually, I honestly didn't know. But then my uncle called me and that's how I learned about the rules of _Hidden Beach_. I only sent you there in the first place because I knew you and Dr. Isles – hello, Dr. Isles – needed some time for yourself. A couple-only resort seemed perfect!"

"But we were... Are... I mean... Not together!" Alright. Maura made a face. She shouldn't have said anything in the first place: back to sipping Tequila. "Hello, though. I hope everything's fine at the morgue."

As confusing as the remark may have been, Susie Chang widened her eyes in shock. She blinked, cast a furtive glance at something or someone on her left then leaned over to lower her voice.

"What do you mean you're not together? You're not... You're not a couple?!"


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and suggestions.**_

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Fresh from the shower and wrapped in a bath towel, Maura walked out of the bathroom and headed downstairs to let Jane know that she should be ready for dinner within fifteen minutes now. All she had to do was blow dry her hair then choose an appropriate outfit for the evening.

"Ja-..." Maura froze. What was going on there? She carefully approached the dining table on her tiptoes and squinted her eyes at the dozen sheets of paper that Jane had spread on the table in front of her. "Have you started writing a detective novel?"

A smile of victory played on Maura's lips. Her reaction was fair, and honestly deserved. She rarely made any joke at all so, when it happened, she made sure to take the most of it. Sadly Jane's enthousiasm turned out to be a lot more timid than hers. Leaned over the papers, she simply let a growl pass her lips. A low and brief growl.

"What are you..."

This time Maura didn't freeze but made a step backwards as Jane waved a sheet of paper in victory. Two extra inches and she would have hit Maura with the paper.

"Those twats at the BPD and at the morgue owe us $3,475 each: that's enough for the Fiji, right? Of course, it is."

Oh. That. Maura rolled her eyes. She shook her head but the light laugh that rose in the air let Jane understand that she found the situation funnier than worrying. Though she had to admit that it was a bit embarrassing. Somehow.

"You have calculated the amount of..."

Jane's enthusiastic nod melted into a sarcastic laugh. Since Susie's revelation had ruined the barbecue, she had found it fair to throw herself in mathematics as soon as they had come back to the beachfront villa in the late afternoon.

Alright. Maybe 'ruining the barbecue' was a little strong but it had seriously weighed on the light mood she had had until then.

As a matter of fact, this day was very strange: she and Maura had gone through a whirl of extreme feelings. Uncertainty, sweetness, intensity, desire, timidity, anger, shock. A whole range of different emotions on display. A real rollercoaster.

"Don't you take it bad they placed bets on our backs?" Jane snorted. She dropped the sheet of paper on the table and walked to the small fridge to pick a bottle of water. "It's so humiliating."

And yet desperately ironical.

The day she and Maura slept together for the first time, they also learned that their respective colleagues were convinced that they had been together for a while to the point one of them had decided to offer them a Mexican couple-only retreat.

Susie Chang had been honest: she had assumed that she and Maura were already a couple or else she would have not sent them to _Hidden Beach_. Learning that reality was a tad different had caused her to start stuttering and blushing. A minimum of experience on behavioral therapy had led Jane to the conclusion that Chang wasn't lying.

"Badly, not bad. You want to go to the Fiji? I didn't know anything about this plan. It isn't enough for the Fiji though."

Why did she have to be so Cartesian? Maura bit her lips and grabbed the sheet of paper to check Jane's calculation. The reasoning was a bit messy but she had nonetheless got to the right result. That was still a nice amount of money.

"The Fiji are _that_ expensive? Damn." Jane took a sip of water and walked back to the table. "My brother bet $400... My own brother. Frankie, this idiot! And then he wonders why he's always broke!"

Maura couldn't help laughing. She had to admit that the situation was very unusual but she wasn't taking it as badly as Jane. She didn't feel mortified nor extremely embarrassed but surprised; simply surprised.

Besides, the predictions had turned out to be right.

Her hand slid along Jane's lower back and stopped as it reached the hem of the cotton sarong. Maura rubbed her friend's skin as comfortingly as she could. The truth was that learning about the bets had had the effect of a cold shower on their mischievous mood. They hadn't touched, they hadn't kissed since then. Everything had stopped rather suddenly.

"How about the interest?" Maura showed Jane the sheet of paper. "When they created this whole bet thing about us, did they come up with a system of interest?"

Two years. It had started two years ago. Jane rolled her eyes as she mumbled an inaudible answer. Fail: Maura's perplexed look pushed her to repeat what she had just said, only clearler this time.

"This isn't a bank, Maura. This is the product of dimwits that you employ and that I work with."

Jane set the bottle of water down on the table with frustration. Then the pace of her feelings changed. Perhaps Maura's hand on her back had something to do with it, she didn't know. The gesture was rather soothing.

"It's not against you." Jane sighed. She turned around, sat on the edge of the table and locked her eyes with her friend's. "It's delicate. It's..."

And it was a matter of a bruised ego too.

A fragile smile it up Maura's features and made her eyes glimmer. She positioned herself between Jane's legs and passed her arms around her friend's waist. The sudden intimate touch resulted enough to make her swallow hard.

"I'm not really hungry anymore." Her finger passed underneath the hem of Jane's bikini bottom to caress the soft skin there. "Or... Well, not really. Not for food, at least."

The remark made Jane chuckle. It was a tad cliché but it it still had an effect on her.

Things had been desperately easy in the morning once they had talked. They hadn't tried to figure out anything and had simply enjoyed the time being instead. The events of the afternoon had damaged the pace of the whole thing but Maura was eager to go back to it. And now.

"I thought it wasn't a good thing to skip a meal."

Jane's voice resounded low and husky. The smirk that played on her lips comforted Maura who made a step forward to mold her body against her friend's one. The move caused her bath towel to get loose.

"It's more than okay once in a while."

Jane leaned over and only stopped as her lips brushed Maura's. Her fingers travelled on her friend's shoulder blades until they reached the bath towel.

"Then let's check that."

The cotton towel landed softly on the floor, its delicate sound covered by the sigh of relief Maura made as Jane finally captured her lips in a kiss.

…

Jane was prude but she had always liked sex. Some times had been better than others, some partners too, and she saw it as being just life. These things happened. You couldn't be at your best every single time.

She just wasn't a very lustful person. She liked the whole thing but could easily do without it nonetheless.

Or at least she thought so because since she and Maura had taken their friendship to another stage, she wanted nothing but to have sex. Over and over. With an abandon she had never showed before.

Perhaps it was caused by the novelty of the whole thing; after all she had never slept with women before. She didn't know where this change of behavior really came from at all but she embraced it with an easiness that surprised her a lot.

Also, she didn't have any source of comparison but she could honestly say that Maura was a good lover; a very good lover.

Just a bit rough at times.

"Don't. You. Dare. To. Touch. Me. Ever. Again."

Maura looked down at her lap. She had never felt so sorry and mortified in her life. What was going on that she couldn't properly calculate distances anymore? First the night before when she had hit the couch with the back of her knees and now with the bedside table when she had literally rolled out of the bed, dragging Jane down in her fall.

Except if Maura had softly landed on the floor, Jane had hit her forehead against the bedside table and was now wincing in pain on the floor.

"You should put some ice on it, you know."

The situation was ridiculous, especially compared to the way everything had started. Within a few seconds of intense kissing on the main floor, they had headed back upstairs to the bedroom to resume the novelty of their relationship.

What had happened to the sweetness of their caresses? To the lustful quietness of their kisses? To their endless sighs, their timid smiles whenever they made eye-contact?

Well, it was all gone now within one move from Maura.

Jane rubbed her forehead and winced in pain. She wasn't sure whether she had to laugh or feel just as mortified as Maura. They were just at the start of whatever was happening between the two of them and it was delicated. The peculiar timidity that came within the novelty of their bond was enough: they didn't need bad moves to make it all even more awkward.

"I'm okay." Though sitting naked at the foot of the bed was not really the definition of 'okay', even for Jane. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Really." Jane grabbed the bedsheet and settled back under the blanket. "You're a beast. It's okay. I'll know it next time."

Jane should have known better than joking now because as she looked up at Maura, she realized that her friend was on the verge of crying. What on Earth was this day, exactly?

"It's the first time it happens to me."

Maura's voice was blank. Her hands were shaking. She widened her eyes to prevent burning tears from coming and took a deep breath. She didn't know what to do anymore, even less what to say. If Jane didn't want ice then it was better to not insist.

They couldn't argue on their first day as... As what? Friends with benefits? Lovers?

Alright: their first day as people who shared a bit more than most of people. The conclusion caused Maura to frown. Maybe she had actually hit the bedside table too. That would explain her strange reasoning. She quietly settled next to Jane and locked sad puppy eyes with her friend's.

"It was a long day." Pitiful excuse to explain her last disgraceful move. "Do you want... Do you want to sleep, now?"

Unless Jane was hungry? They had skipped dinner, after all. Maura turned around to grab Jane's watch, the only item that hadn't fallen from the damned bedside table.

"I'm not tired."

"But you aren't dizzy, are you?" There were potential risks of a commotion. It would be very unfortunate but as a medical doctor, this was something Maura couldn't entirely discard either. She would have to be careful for the next hours. "If you suddenly suffer from a cephalea, please let me kno-..."

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. Jane captured her lips in a deep kiss and passed on top of her with a brand new yet sweet authority.

Life was short: Jane didn't want to lose time in pointless conversations right now.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, messages and suggestions (I'll try to reply to your PMs this week, I'm sorry I've been busy).**_

 **Chapter Sixteen**

Some very loud Latino music caused Jane to jump. She hated it when a third party wake her up so abruptly: it was the best way to make sure that she would be grumpy all day long.

The sound had caught her by surprise, right in the middle of her sleep. Where did it come from? She took a deep breath to calm down her heartbeats then turned her head to look at Maura. Whatever this music was, it hadn't had the same effect on her at all. Maura was peacefully sleeping, catching back on a well-needed rest after the lustful night they had had.

What time was it? Jane winced: the sun was already quite high in the sky. She passed on top of Maura to grab her watch that happened to be on the opposite bedsite table and rubbed her eyes.

10.15am

Aright. Not as bad as what she had imagined in the first place. The music wouldn't stop though. As a matter of fact and now that her brain was working anew, Jane was able to assimilate the sound to a doorbell. A ridiculous one.

"Maura?"

Jane didn't bother sitting back on her side of the bed. She gently shook her friend's shoulder to wake her up and leaned over to plant a soft kiss at the corner of Maura's lips. Her action got rewarded by a loud growl. Obviously someone wasn't eager to wake up now.

"Don't sit on me, Jane. What do you want?"

Really? Jane scoffed. Maura used to work on crime investigations. Shouldn't she be able to connect Jane's sudden desire to wake her up to the doorbell of the villa?

"Someone's ringing the doorbell. You go?"

Maura didn't even bother opening an eye. With a strength that surprised Jane a lot, she rolled on her stomach and settled better in bed, passing an arm under her pillow. She growled anew.

"No."

For real? No?

Maura's carefree attitude was a big surprise. First of all, Jane was convinced that her friend was an early bird; it was the first time she saw her object waking up. Then the slightly childish attitude was quite unusual too. But sweet enough.

Jane laughed quietly and got up. She didn't like being waken up like this but the circumstances were a bit different. What she was currently living with Maura lightened up her mood. She felt fine, at the right place at the right moment. And this hadn't happened for a while.

"Alright, I'll go."

She got up and walked to the stairs that led to the main floor. Whoever was waiting by the door seemed to be determined to walk in as they kept on pressing the doorbell over and over. This Latino music had to cease.

"You're naked, Jane."

Finally a wise remark. Amused, Jane smirked at Maura from the stairs. Maura had turned her head in the proper direction and had managed to finally open an eye to somewhat check the situation.

"And so what? Aren't we at a nudist resort, after all?"

The question resulted enough to fully wake up Maura. She leaned up on her elbow and pushed away from her face her messy hair. Something was glimmering in her sleepy eyes, something mischievous and warm.

"Really?"

Jane didn't reply. She was way too eager to make the Latino music stop and there was only one way to get it. She hurried downstairs, put on the first shirt she found at reach and walked to the door with more or less enthousiasm.

"What is..."

She froze. Everything froze the moment she opened the door and found herself facing Constance and Arthur Isles. Maura's parents immediately looked down at her absence of pants. Jane closed back the door and leaned against it without a word.

The doorbell rang anew. Of course.

"Have you lost your way to the door, Jane?!"

Jane looked up at the ceiling: so not only had Maura decided to not be an early bird anymore but she was also all about sarcasm now. Awesome. Really. Best timing ever for this kind of remarks.

Desperate times called for desperate measures; and politeness. She didn't have much of a choice, anyway. Jane turned around and opened the door again. She brightly smiled at Constance and Arthur, tilted her head then blinked.

It was the best she could get to for the moment. Too many questions twirled in her head and none of them made the slightest sense. She was pretty much certain that Maura hadn't told her that her parents would stop at the resort any time soon.

" _Hola_...?*"

Constance forced her way inside the villa with her typical and oh so fascinating nonchalance. Arthur simply followed his wife in silence. Jane closed the door behind her and made a few steps towards Maura's parents. Did she really have to ask or they would finally realize that an explanation was more than needed right now?

"What a lovely miniature house, very surprising for a... Resort." Constance set her Vuitton bag on a chair and smiled at Jane. She took her sunglasses off. "How are you doing?"

Okay so... Nope. No explanation.

"Ahem... Not... Not too bad?" Jane frowned. Perhaps she was simply dreaming. Perhaps none of this was really happening and it was only the product of her stupid, senseless imagination. She ran a hand through her hair as casually as she could. "I didn't know you were... You were around...?"

Since neither Constance nor Arthur seemed eager to allude to the reason of their presence at _Hidden Beach_ , Jane had no choice but to ask about it but she also suddenly remembered that the shirt she was wearing was extremely short. Not so discreetly, she went to hide behind a chair and pulled on the piece of clothing while smiling at Constance and Arthur.

They wouldn't notice anything, would they?

"We are on a cruise, some last-minute plan. Tulum happens to be our first stop so we are here for the day. We thought it would be nice to stop by and say hello. It's been so long since the last time we've been to Mexico with Maura." Constance cast a glance at the living-room. "Speaking of whom... Is she around?"

Jane feigned to be happily surprised when she was actually dying inside. Perhaps under other circumstances, she wouldn't have cared much about Maura's parents' presence but they had really taken her aback this time.

Though there was surprise and surprise: she was glad to see that they hadn't spotted them hand in hand on the beach.

The nudist beach.

Jane swallowed hard. Did they already know that this resort was a nudist one? The staff was always dressed, that's why Jane herself hadn't noticed anything on her first day there until the moment she had walked out on the balcony and had seen the private areas of _Hidden Beach_.

"Who was it?"

Jane widened her eyes. Now this was a red alert. Maura's voice was way too close to her right now. Obviously her friend had finally got up and had decided to join her downstairs which was a very, very bad idea. Was she even wearing clothes?

Jane had joked when she had walked out their bedroom and mentioned the nudist rules but she knew how Maura could take things a bit too literally at times. Maura's giggles rose playfully in the room.

"Were they so mesmerized by your breasts that they stopped talking to..."

Maura froze halfway down the stairs as three people turned to look at her. Her relaxed smile vanished along with her self-esteem. She swallowed hard.

Jane forced a laugh and looked at her friend.

"Surprise, surprise...!"

…

Maura stepped out of the shower and rolled her eyes at Jane. At least the situation had put aside the latent timidity that had been reigning over the new nature of their relationship. Jane didn't flinch as Maura walked past her entirely naked.

"Oh please." She grabbed her bikini and shook her head at Jane's reflection in the mirror. "At least you had a shirt on and you didn't make any lubricious remark." Maura snorted. She wasn't about to forget what had happened. " _I_ did."

Not naked though. She had somewhat wrapped herself in the bedsheet before going downstairs to see why Jane had suddenly turned so quiet but it sadly didn't change anything to the fact that she had been caught off guard.

By her parents.

"And what about the fact they're currently at a nudist resort without even knowing about it?" Jane cast a glance at the door in her back before walking to Maura. She couldn't but whisper. Constance and Arthur were patiently waiting for them downstairs to share breakfast with them but Jane was still afraid that they would overhear the conversation she was now having with Maura. "They're gonna spend the day with naked people, Maura!"

Maura grabbed a hairband and proceeded to tie her hair up in a loose bun. Jane's argument was fair but she didn't see it as problematic as the suggestive remark she had made about Jane's breasts.

For the very first time in her life, she had felt honestly mortified in front of her parents. At thirty-nine years old. This was embarrassing, very embarrassing.

"They have friends who are nudist so once we tell them about this... Little detail... Things should be just fine." Maura turned around and locked her eyes with Jane's panicked dark ones. "My comment regarding your breasts though..."

The worst of all was that she had hesitated. For long seconds Maura had debated the whole thing in her head: would Jane be okay with such remark knowing that whatever was going on between the two of them was still so new, so fresh?

"Wait. Where are you going to?"

Jane frowned as she saw Maura open the door. Her question was stupid and she knew that the chance they could stay locked in the bathroom and pretend that nothing had happened was very tiny but she still held some hope over it.

No matter what.

"My parents are downstairs, Jane. They are visiting me... Us, actually. They are visiting us. So I'm going to do my best to forget this self-humiliation I inflicted to myself earlier on and pretend that everything is fine. And you know what? You're going to do it too because this is what adults do."

Jane looked down at the floor. She hated it when she knew that other people were right and that she disagreed with whatever they said.

Maura sighed and walked to Jane. She felt sorry, especially as she now witnessed her friend in a state of complete distress. The situation was not perfect but nothing tragic had happened either. They needed to put things into perspective, and be optimistic.

She planted a quick kiss on Jane's cheek and slapped her buttocks before giving her a wink.

"You'll do just fine, believe me."

...

 _Hola: Hi_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages (hola, provincia de Yucatan); just a reminder: three chapters equal to one day in the story, it's a slow pace.**_

 **Chapter Seventeen**

As much as Jane tried her best to relax, it absolutely didn't work. Or at least not really. She ha enjoyed the breakfast at the beachfront villa with Constance and Arthur, this was true, but the moment they had put a foot outside, panic had passed underneath her skin again and she now wished nothing but the ground to swallow her now.

Her reaction was disproportionate and she knew it. Just as Maura had told her, Constance and Arthur had taken the news about _Hidden Beach_ very well. They didn't care much about the resort being a nudist one. They weren't nudist themselves but they respected people's personal choices on the matter. A body was just a body, anyway.

Ugh. Europeans! If Rizzolis had stopped by Tulum, it would have been a very different story.

Deep inside, Jane envied Maura because she had very open-minded parents. They didn't suffer from the typical Catholic background that categorised so much Italian immigrants.

"You're quite shy, aren't you?" A drink in her hand, Constance smiled at Jane before focusing back on the ribbon of blue that spread in front of her. "You shouldn't."

Jane held back a more or less polite reply. This wasn't the right time to upset Maura's mother. As a matter of fact, there was _not_ a right time to do that. Nobody messed with Constance Isles; nobody who was in their right mind.

"I ahem... You neither."

It was supposed to be a compliment. Sort of. Was it one? Jane frowned as uncertainty rose within her mind. She wasn't sure about anything anymore. Thankfully, Constance didn't take it badly. She even looked rather amused by the reply.

They had settled at the beach bar after Maura and Arthur had announced that they were going to explore the submarine life for a while. Of course, Jane would have loved joining them but since Constance had renounced to the activity, she had felt the obligation to stay with Maura's mother in the meantime.

And thus be surrounded by naked vacationers.

It was a challenge. The situation was a real challenge.

"This is not what I meant... Thank you, though. I was simply trying to tell you that you shouldn't be afraid of showing your body. As my daughter said it herself earlier this morning, it is a nice one." A timid, quiet smile made Constance's lips tremble a bit. "Maura seems to appreciate it. A lot."

Now this was very awkward.

Jane sunk on her seat and took a long, quiet breath. How could she talk about the relationship she had with Maura to a third party when she hadn't even alluded to it properly with Maura herself? It was all very upside down.

"Oh. That." Jane bit the inside of her cheek. She had to find a more relevant way to reply to Constance. She was forty years old, after all; not twelve. It was time for her to behave like an adult. "It's not what you think..."

"Oh but I don't think, Jane." Constance locked her eyes with Jane's and raised an eyebrow. She was smirking. "I see."

And then, everything collapsed. The energy Jane had felt vanished in a sigh of distress as she rolled her eyes and bit her lips in a gesture of regret.

She was tired, too tired. From her colleagues' bets to the rules of this hotel, she just couldn't take it anymore. At least Marion had been nicer with her than what she had imagined in the first place but it wasn't enough, not anymore.

She had had enough.

"No... I mean it. It... It's just happened." Jane looked down at her cocktail. The words wouldn't come. Frustrated, she grabbed the straw of her cocktail and started playing with it. "Maura and I... We haven't been together since 1985. This isn't true."

Constance's eyes widened. She honestly looked surprised though Jane didn't know if it had to do with the revelation that she and Maura weren't the old couple so many people thought they were or if the reason lay somewhere else.

"I think you have been together for quite a while, actually. Emotionally. The rest..." Constance shrugged, very matter-of-factly. "It was a matter of time and nothing else."

Martin and his wife walked past Jane's table. They waved at her then went to settle on one of the king-size mattresses a bit further down the beach.

"I don't really know what we are."

Not just yet. It had only been a day, after all. Nobody could already ask Jane to take decisions about a situation that she had barely started experiencing. It wasn't fair.

"You think you may need time to process the whole thing but I think I have lost enough of it like that. I should have told you that earlier on: welcome to the family, Jane. I'm glad to see that our daughter has found someone who respects her and brings her all the joy she deserves."

The statement touched Jane. It sounded a bit cliché but the truth was that its honesty was bare and beautiful. She didn't know if it would be enough to ease the storm that was currently taking place in her brain but maybe it would soothe it a little nonetheless.

"That being said... If you ever hurt my daughter, I need to let you know that my husband has a whole collection of samurai sabers. He has never used any of them but this isn't an option you should discard."

Jane froze, a hand on her glass. Had she really heard what she had just heard? She blinked as Constance's words passed underneath her skin and rushed to her brain.

It was a joke.

It had to be a joke.

"Oh look who's coming, Jane."

With a frightening nonchalance, as if she hadn't just threatened anyone with a samurai saber, Constance waved at Maura and Arthur. Both were walking towards the beach bar table; all smile.

Jane swallowed hard: never again would she say that the Rizzolis were crazy because, obviously, the Isles weren't any better.

…

"What did you think about _Isla Mujeres_ , Jane?" Arthur picked a shrimp and smiled at Jane. "Did Maura tell you that this is where I proposed to Constance?"

Maura calmly set her glass down on the table. Their lunch had gone very smoothly until now. And suddenly everything was gone because her father had literally dropped a mini-bomb.

"I actually didn't know that."

Cold tone of voice. Too cold, pehraps. Three faces turned to Maura. Obviously none of them had assumed that she, Maura, would react in any way to Arthur's remark. Or at least not so vehemently.

Constance nodded and took a sip of her glass of white wine.

"It is true. He proposed to me on top of the lighthouse."

The confession made Jane smile. She had been wrong to feel so stressed about this unplanned visit. The day had turned quite good so far, to the point she was fairly enjoying it. Besides, it was the perfect occasion for her to get to know a tad better Maura's parents. She now saw them from a different angle. It was comforting, almost relieving.

"It's a lovely island. I wanted to go because of the temple dedicated to Ixchel." Jane almost felt the urge to add who Ixchel was but remembered at the last minute that Arthur Isles was an anthropologist. He obviously knew about the Maya deity. "I had read a book about her so I was curious to see what the temple looks like."

Her remark got welcomed by a proud nod from Maura's father.

"We also visited the turtle farm, it was highly interesting... Wasn't it, Jane?" Maura picked a shrimp and smiled at Jane. "We learned many things on that day."

Alright, perhaps they could have done without this last comment as Maura realized that it was also on that day that she and Jane had made love for the first time. Her parents had no idea about it but still, her subconscious innuendo made her feel embarrassed.

"Yeah." Jane swallowed hard. She couldn't start stuttering now. "So you're on a cruise, right?" Back to the essentials; it was coward but safer. "What kind of cruise is that?"

Good question. Maura had to admit that she didn't see her parents take part in one of these classic Caribbean cruises. It wasn't the kind of vacation the Isles usually gave into.

"Oh, it is a _Rotary Club_ cruise. Thank God, it isn't on one of these awful ships." Constance winked at Jane. "You know, like on this tv show."

Jane chuckled.

" _Love Boat_?" If she had been told that she would talk about American tv shows with Constance on a Mexican nudist beach one day, Jane would have not believed it at all. Yet there she was now. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

If her fingers weren't moist and didn't smell of shrimps, Maura would have grabbed Jane's hand to hold it tightly. She didn't care much what her parents could think about it. Anyway, her verbal mishap earlier in the morning had been a complete give-away. There was no point denying the whole thing.

Jane's relaxed state of mind was enough for Maura to know that the situation had turned in their favor. This unexpected visit was turning into one of the sweetest days of their vacations.

"You know what I think about marriage, dad."

Maura avoided Jane's eyes. They had become intimate a day earlier only so this wasn't the kind of question they were about to discuss but it was nonetheless something not as innocent as it may appear to be.

"Oh, please. Not this discussion again."

Constance rolled her eyes and poured herself another glass of white wine. She offered some more to Jane as well.

The move warmed up Maura's heart. For the very first time in a long while, she finally had the feeling to be sharing a real family lunch with her parents. And she was glad to have Jane by her side, even more now that they weren't just friends anymore. It sounded right, almost as cliché as one of these European Sunday family meals.

A lovely cliché, though; the sweetest one.

"What about you, Jane? What do you think about marriage?"

"Arthur!" Constance wrinkled her nose in disapproval but immediately looked at Jane. She was eagerly waiting for a reply. "He is incorrigible."

And he owned a samurai saber collection.

Jane opened her mouth to offer Maura's parents a semblance of reply but she finally remained strangely quiet. She simply didn't know anymore. She had been raised with the idea that marriage was as logical and necessary as breathing but as the years were now passing by, she saw a very distinct reality.

And then there was Maura, the first woman she had ever been intimate with: it changed her perspectives.

Arthur took advantage of Jane's silence to talk again.

"I know that Maura doesn't want to get married, Constance. I understood that, and I accept it. At first I thought it was because she dated women but even now that same-sex marriage is legal in differet countries, she is still not into it."

Jane's smile froze. Her candid reaction to Arthur Isles' words had abruptly stopped as soon as the words had started making sense in her brain. She cast a very quick glance at Maura who looked rather uncomfortable now.

Jane blinked. Women? Maura dated women?


	18. Chapter 18

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, it's really nice of you to let me know what you think (as for Maura 'always' being gay in my stories: personally I tend to agree with S. Alexander who sees Maura as being pansexual; and just because Jane is a bit of a tomboy doesn't make her "gayer" than Maura, for me Jane having dated women in the past would be OOC - many lesbians/bisexual women aren't tomboys, it's a cliché to think so).**_

 **Chapter Eighteen**

The smile that played on Maura's lips as she stopped by the entrance of the lobby to say goodbye to her parents was honest and warm. The latent fear she felt at the prospect of staying alone with Jane was just as honest though.

Her father hadn't meant to put her in a delicate situation but it was still what he had done when he had mentioned her dates over lunch. Of course, Jane hadn't said anything yet but Maura knew that it was only a matter of time.

And it was fair. Somehow.

"I am really glad you've decided to pay us a visit... It was a lovely surprise." Maura took her mother in her arms before repeating the gesture with her father. She needed to win some time: it was coward but desperately necessary. "I hope that you will enjoy the rest of your cruise."

"What she's just said." Jane nodded at her friend's parents but, without any warning, Arthur Isles took her in his arms for a friendly hug. "Oh."

The unexpected move made Maura smile. It was still very early in their story – if she could call if a 'story' at all – but at least her parents accepted her relationship with Jane as warmly as one could only hope. And it made Maura feel immensely lucky.

Of course, she and Jane still had to determine the real nature of their brand new relationship but Maura wasn't too worried about it. It would come, little by little. Jane probably needed some time to process what was happening. Maura had already made her mind. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even needed time to think about it.

It was an evidence. A pure logic.

She slid a bold arm around Jane's waist as her parents started walking towards the automatic doors. Jane didn't complain. She didn't move away either. She remained exactly where she was instead and friendly waved at Arthur and Constance as they walked their way to the taxi that would take them back to the harbor.

The car drove off, at last.

"So..." Maura dared a quick glance at Jane. They couldn't stay in the lobby of the resort anyway. "It's 7pm. Are you hungry?"

Maura wasn't. How could she? Her heart was beating fast and she felt atrociously dizzy. It was her fault though, nobody else was to blame; not even her father. This was just what happened when you hid something from a friend, from a very good friend.

"No, not yet. Are you?" Since Maura shook her head, Jane motioned the main path that led to the villas. "Then let's go back to our place for a little while, okay?"

Maura's hand slid along Jane's back. Her fingers brushed her friend's shirt and only stopped once they reached her hand. Maura held it firmy and started walking towards the private areas of the resort. She knew what was coming. It was only a matter of minutes now. Jane was too prude to ever say anything in public but she would confront Maura as soon as she would have closed the door of the villa behind her.

Fate didn't help much: they didn't come across a single person on their way back to the villa. If Maura had wanted to win some time thanks to a casual chat then she had failed.

She silently opened the door and walked inside. It had been a strange, eventful day. She felt rather tired now.

She took her sandals off without saying a word and caressed the edge of the couch, waiting for her imminent death. Except nothing came up.

Jane closed the door and dropped her key-card on the table before picking a bottle of water in the fridge.

She wouldn't talk.

Intrigued, Maura turned around and properly looked at her friend. Jane wasn't angry. She actually seemed to be rather relaxed. Just dreadfully silent.

"Would you like to share a bath with me?"

The question might appear as strange but Maura was being sincere. As much as she dreaded her face-to-face with Jane, she was also dying for a sweet moment spent in her arms. They hadn't had a single minute for themselves so far today and she missed it.

Jane pondered the offer for a few seconds before finally accepting. It was a good idea: a bath was exactly what she needed right now.

She set her bottle of water down on the dining table and followed Maura upstairs.

"Your parents are cooler than what I thought."

The remark caused Maura to chuckle. She knew that Jane had some preconceptions about her parents and she understood why. After all, she – Maura – had never been tender when she had talked about them either.

She had her part of responsibility. Her speech didn't help much.

"They are relaxed because they are on vacation." They reached the bathroom. Maura turned the water on. "But they like you. They really do."

The bath tub was a smaller version of their outdoor hot tub, the one they had only used once since they had arrived.

Maura frowned as she thought about such detail: they had eight full days left at the resort so she would make sure that they would enjoy the hot tub a lot more.

She undressed in front of Jane as if it were the most natural thing in the world. At least she had improved on this part of their relationship. Jane too as she didn't seem to be bothered by the intimate move.

Maura turned out to be the first one to settle in the bath tub. Jane didn't wait for too long though. She simply grabbed a hairband to tie her hair up in a loose bun before sitting next to Maura in the warm water. She turned around to look at her friend and planted a soft kiss on her lips. She had craved the touch since the first hours of the morning.

Her move reassured Maura; somehow. At least she knew that Jane wasn't too angry with her in spite of the mini-bomb her father had dropped over lunch.

Should she apologize? Their stubbornness to not talk about it was actually going on her nerves. It was worse than alluding to it. Yet she didn't dare, she didn't dare to say the slightest thing.

"You know, nothing happened with Charlie." Jane leaned her head backwards and closed her eyes. She was afraid of looking at Maura but her current position was relaxing and she needed it right now because what she was about to say had weighed on her shoulders for years. "Nothing at all. Our classmates were sure of the opposite though and that's why they started mocking us. The truth is..." The sigh that passed Jane's lips resounded loudly in the bathroom. "Yeah nothing happened but I can now say that I wish it had been different. I just didn't assume it by then. That's all."

Maura remained quiet and still. She had leaned her head against Jane's shoulder before the confession and hadn't dared to move during it. She looked down at the water and the bubble soap. The foam covered her knees.

"Where is she, now?"

Jane shrugged. Speaking about Charlie was the strangest feeling ever. She had wronly thought that she had turned the page over her but the current conversation proved her the exact opposite: Charlie was still alive in her memory, way too alive.

"She never graduated. She dropped out of school and moved to Montana. I have no idea if she's still there or not."

Maura finally moved. She folded her legs and leaned her chin on top of her knees as she passed her arms around them. Jane was sitting next to her but she didn't want to face her, not right now.

"Is she the only woman you've ever had a crush on?" Maura's curiosity wasn't impolite. She didn't need to know but it was a bit now or never to talk about Charlie and a side of Jane that she still ignored. "I know you have never dated one but..."

"Yes, you."

The silence that followed Jane's confession turned to be oddly light.

They were making a big step forward in their relationship, and rather unexpectedly. Maura bit her lips to hold back a smile but the butterflies in her stomach were dancing a wild waltz now.

"I haven't dated anyone in a long time, man or woman... I still have doubts about it. Maybe I'm just not made for that. One night stands? They always work out. Relationships? Not so much." Maura turned around to look at Jane. "I'm not ashamed of the people I've dated in the past, I'm not ashamed of their genders. I just didn't know how to bring it up and since I wasn't seeing anyone... Telling you about it stopped being a necessity."

Besides, Maura had never liked labels. Her father tended to use them but she didn't. She didn't feel like she honestly fit in one category more than another. Unlike Jane, she simply hadn't been in denial. This was where the difference lay.

"I don't really care whom you've dated, Maura... And to be honest, it's not even surprising. I just want to know..." Jane took a deep breath. Her voice had started shaking under the storm of emotions that was twirling in her heart. "I just want to know if … If there's a chance you... You know." She swallowed hard. This wasn't a good statement at all: she kept on stuttering and her sentences didn't make sense. "Do I count for you the way you count for me? Now?"

Jane rolled her eyes out of frustration. She hated it when her lack of self-confidence showed so much. She felt incredibly stupid by then.

She wasn't asking for love declarations and promises of an endless tomorrow. She simply wanted to know if Maura saw what was going on as a fun parenthesis or if she cared if only a bit. It was all Jane wanted to know. The rest absolutely didn't matter.

"Are you asking me if I consider you as a friend with benefits?"

What was it that Maura needed a blatant explanation at the most delicate time? Jane felt how her cheeks began to burn. She was blushing, heavily blushing.

"Yeah, s'ppose so."

Maura gasped. Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked shocked, completely shocked; and slightly upset too.

"I don't fool around with my friends, Jane. I have absolutely no issue separating sex from... Feelings... But I don't do it with friends! Who do you think I am?"

Jane closed her eyes. What was happening now? What had she done to reach such level of stress, again? She wasn't good at handling relationships, at least she had that in common with Maura.

Not that it was a good omen, actually.

"I just didn't want you to freak out, Maura!" Jane braced herself. Her voice had no reason whatsoever to be so high-pitched now. "... 'Cause it's been two days only! I don't wanna sound clingy or... What I know?"

Besides, Jane had never been the kind of person who was fond of defining relationships. She actually tended to hate doing this.

But it was different, this time; very different.

"Well..." Maura approached Jane. She sat in front of her and passed her legs around her friend's before locking her eyes with hers. "Maybe two days are nothing in someone's life but two days with you actually mean a lot more than all the things I've lived so far."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages (I honestly hope I'll have some time to repy to your PMs this weekend, probably on Sunday).**_

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Playing chess required concentration and it was exactly what Jane needed right now. She would have loved taking part in the beach volleyball tournament but the fact all the players were naked had stopped her right away. She had accepted the nudist character of the resort but there were still some limits that she didn't want to cross. Going around naked under her sarong was already a little miracle in itself.

"It's your turn." Maura followed with her eyes whatever had suddenly caught Jane's attention. She raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Body painting, really?"

Busted. Jane immediately looked back at the chess board but she wasn't fooling anyone: she had indeed been staring at the body painting contest participants for a while. She shrugged, not really knowing what to say. There was no point in lying to Maura. They were having a nice, quiet morning on the beach: everything was alright. She didn't want to cause an argument.

"I just wonder how it feels like." Red alert: Maura would probably misinterpret her words. "I don't wanna try, I'm just curious." Jane paused. "And not in a pervy way."

Maura openly laughed. It hadn't even crossed her mind that Jane may have watched the contestants for voyeuristic reasons. Her friend, or better said partner now, was still not feeling entirely comfortable among nudist vacationers. She had improved but the road was still quite long until it ceased to be a problem at all.

Maura looked at the sea and smiled.

After a sweet couple of hours in bed, they had decided to head to the beach to have breakfast there. The weather was still tragically perfect, to the point Maura wondered if it actually ever rained over _Playa del Carmen_.

"It surely is less painful than a tattoo."

Jane took a sip of her giant smoothie and locked her eyes with Maura's. She liked the easiness of their relationship. The complicity they had shared as friends was still exactly the same now that they were lovers. It was comforting and Jane wanted to see in it a very positive message for the future of their relationship.

"How would you know? You don't have any tattoo."

A playful smile appeared on Maura's lips. It made her eyes glimmer of delight.

Until a few days ago, she could have played on words and teased Jane on a tattoo she may have but it was now impossible as her body had no secret whatsoever for her partner anymore.

Jane was a sweet, attentive lover. She would have obviously noticed it.

"You don't need to have a tattoo to come to such conclusion: one activity requires a needle when the other requires a paintbrush. Body painting might even be quite arousing."

She landed mischievous hazel eyes on the chess board. They would never finish the game if she started having such kind of conversation. With a fake innocence that didn't fool anyone, she made her next move and waited for Jane to play anew.

The conversation they had had the evening before had immensely relieved her. She hadn't even realized until then how stressing the situation had actually been. Neither she nor Jane knew for sure what life had in store for them but they at least were on the same page for the moment. It was better than nothing.

An exotic, Latino music interrupted their game: Jane's phone was ringing.

Maura smirked, amused by the ringing tone her partner had chosen. At least it matched _Hidden Beach_ and the music that was currently playing at the bar of the beach.

"Oh. It's ma'..." Jane looked up at Maura, her cell phone in her hand. "She wants me to call her on Skype right now."

Maura frowned.

As much as she didn't trust her instinct, she still happened to have one: and it wasn't telling her good things for the moment. She sat up, not caring much about the fact she was topless, then pushed the chess board aside to make some room for Jane's tablet.

"Is everything alright?"

Her question was a bit stupid. Obviously, Jane couldn't answer it or else she would have given her further details already. Besides and much to Maura's anxiety, her partner looked rather worried. Hopefully, nothing bad had happened in Boston.

"Dunno." Jane quickly set her tablet down on the large mattress and logged in her Skype account. She made the call and swallowed hard. She didn't like her mother's lack of information. The text message Angela had sent her had been very brief. Too brief. "Hey."

Jane squinted her eyes at the screen: at least her mother didn't look worried nor panicked. Sadly, she looked very angry. Was it any better? Absolutely not. Jane knew better by now.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!" Angela's voice resounded so loudly that it caused several vacationers to turn around and look what was going on by Jane and Maura's mattress. "How could you do this to me?"

Intrigued, Maura approached the screen and realized at the last minute that she'd better lie on her stomach if she didn't want half of the BPD to have a free full view of her breasts. She took her sunglasses off and set them on top of her head. What was going on?

"What are you talking about, ma'? And please, speak low. We're not alone, here." A nervous laugh passed Jane's lips. Her mother's reaction wasn't really humiliating but still a tad embarrassing. "If it's the bets regarding Maura and I then I swear I didn't..."

Jane's voice vanished in a gasp as her mother waved a newspaper headlines at the screen. Maura's shriek, however, turned out to be a lot less discreet.

"The hell is that?!"

…

Marion offered an apologetic smile to Jane and Maura before looking at Jule and Jamie for support. She had rushed to the beach as soon as the rumor about Jane losing her nerves on the beach had reached the main restaurant of _Hidden Beach_ that was located on the other end of the resort. What could she say? The five-star hotel was like a small village and Jane had turned in a local celebrity out there. If something happened to her then everyone felt concerned.

"Well... The good thing is that it's not _The Boston Globe_."

The moan of agony that rose within Maura's voice let Marion understand that her words hadn't cheered up any of them. Jane swallowed hard and dared another look, probably the thousandth one by now, at the newspaper headlines.

 _Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ties the knot with long-time partner BPD homicide detective on the Riviera Maya!_

The catchy title was illustrated by the picture taken at the turtle farm on _Isla Mujeres_ , the one that had probably been put online once they had both given their agreement. The kiss picture: the awkward and accidental kiss picture.

"I hate the media!" Jane's fist landed loudly on the table which caused her well-needed Margarita to dangerously brush the edge of the cocktail glass. "This is just... So... So wrong!"

And false: not only had they not got married but the term 'long-time partner' was wrong as well. Jane simply couldn't say it out loud since six or seven vacationers had gathered to support her and Maura. Nobody but Marion knew that she and Maura had made it to the resort without being an actual couple.

"I'm going to call my lawyer."

Under other circumstances, Maura wouldn't have cared much about it; she would have even found it rather funny. But implying that she had got married was a violation of her private life that could have an impact on her job. Somehow.

She had responsibilities, she wasn't supposed to make the headlines of a tabloid. Even if it was all a lie.

Small wonder why Angela had been so angry. It had taken Jane and Maura long minutes to make her accept the fact that none of this was true. It is only once the matriarch had asked Maura why she was being topless on the beach that Jane had known that they had managed to get her mother focused on something else.

"We aren't married! This isn't true." Maura pursed her lips. "And even if we had _tied the knot_ as they love saying, this is none of their business!"

And then what, though? She didn't see herself hold a press conference to deny the whole story. It was ridiculous.

"You'd make two lovely brides though." Martin sheepishly smiled at Jane and Maura. "You should get married. Take it as a sign!"

Jane blinked. Had she heard him right? By the applause Martin got, something told her that she had not dreamed. Nope, not at all.

"But nobody wants to get married!" Jane growled. What was it that, every time she freaked out, her voice reached decibels that only dolphins could hear? "It's not on our bucket list."

Not after two days of relationship. This was ridiculous. She wasn't as marriage-phobic as Maura was but it was way too soon to even think about it. Martin simply couldn't guess it though. He was convinced that she and Maura had met a few years ago.

Jane took a deep breath: she didn't need this extra-source of stress.

"Then how about a symbolical ceremony? The resort organizes some of these!" Tanita clapped her hands, ecstatic at the prospect of attending a fake wedding. "I agree with Martin. This place is so romantic... Imagine saying your vows with the sunset behind, barefoot on the beach..."

And entirely naked?

Maura took a long sip of her Tequila Sunrise. She and Jane were completely losing control of the situation. The crisis meeting held by clothes-less people was the strangest thing ever so if they added some fake wedding ceremony to it, Maura would probably lose her mind.

That would make awesome headlines.

"As much as I admit that the sunset here is a very romantic setting, this isn't the issue Jane and I are facing right now."

Diplomacy.

Maura swallowed hard. Was there any way to get rid of Jane's fans if only for an hour? She appreciated the fact they cared so much about them but she wouldn't mind having a moment of privacy with her partner at some point. Especially given the current circumstances.

"Okay... Let's start all again." Jane cleared her voice then locked her eyes with Maura's. "There's no point in asking the turtle farm to take the picture off their website as it's already all over Boston by now. The only thing we can do..."

Maura tilted her head and squinted her eyes at Jane as her partner suddenly stopped talking. She was all ears. Anyway at this point, she was eager to hear any kind of plan B. one had to offer as long as it didn't include some wedding fantasy on a Caribbean beach.

"I don't know." Jane looked at Maura with puppy eyes. "I really don't know."

Maura grabbed the tablet and looked at the headlines. She felt disarmed, a bit defeated. It was the first time that she had to deal with such thing. Until now Bostonian media had always respected her privacy. She didn't feel like suing anyone and yet she didn't like this outing.

She didn't like it at all, if only for Jane. She found it tough.

"It's okay." Maura smiled at her partner before leaning over to plant a sweet kiss on her lips. Her move got welcomed by a slightly ridiculous 'aw' from the group of vacationers. "We'll rock this like the best wedded not-wedded couple Boston has ever seen."


	20. Chapter 20

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, suggestions and messages.**_

 **Chapter Twenty**

Maura walked to the terrace of the villa and sat next to Jane. She set her cell phone down on the table then grabbed her partner's hand. The move was sweet though quite vague. Neither of them could say whether Maura was trying to show support or simply care. No matter the source of said move, it still happened at the right time for it was well-needed after the news that they had got in the morning.

"My attorney is calling them and he will ask for a refutation that will be published within the next twenty-four hours on the tabloid website and then on their next publication."

Jane snorted. The headlines didn't make her feel ashamed as she had absolutely no issue to assume her relationship with Maura but she didn't like the way wrong facts could so easily be told by the media.

She wasn't a novice though and she knew that it happened more often than one imagined but she was directly touched by it, this time. It wasn't just a case she was investigating on: it was her private life.

"I'm not a wedding freak but I _do_ hope my wedding pics will look a lot better than this ridiculous turtle farm thingie!" Jane's joke fell flat as she realized that Maura may take her words badly. "I mean if I ever get married, of course."

Maura forced a laugh.

She had understood what Jane meant but her hesitation was cute. Besides, Maura didn't completely discard the possibility of a wedding: she simply didn't see it as a necessity, mainly because her past relationships had proved her that she wasn't made for long-term relationships.

Perhaps Jane would prove her wrong; hopefully even.

For a couple of seconds, Maura allowed herself to imagine that things wouldn't turn right between her and Jane. Very bad idea unless she wanted to get a prescription for Prozac.

"You're tense." Maura's hand pressed on Jane's shoulder. "Do you want me to book you a spa session? Something tells me you might prefer a massage over the conference about Maya artefacts I am supposed to attend, tonight."

Maya artefacts? Jane winced in mental pain. Something must have happened within Maura because she, Jane, was certain that her partner would have never offered her to choose between a massage and a boring conference.

Under other circumstances, Maura would have literally dragged her to endless hours of discussion about the Pre-columbian civilization.

"You know me too well..."

The Latino door bell caused them both to turn around to look at the door. Maura stood up and planted a stolen kiss on Jane's shoulder before walking to the door.

No surprise this time around though: her parents weren't in the area anymore, it was just room-service for their lunch. Of course, they could have gone to one of the restaurants of the resort but the context had led them to choose something more intimate and relaxing. At least if they had lunch at their villa then nobody would interrupt them.

Nobody but the few vacationers who swam in the lazy river swimming-pool.

" _¡_ _Hola, Suzana!_ _¿_ _Qué tal?*_ "

Jane joined Maura inside and politely nodded at the employee who was now speaking way too fast in Spanish for Jane to understand the slightest thing. Maura, however, seemed to have no problem whatsoever to follow it. The Mexican woman set the different dishes down on the dining table and finally left after another incomprehensible chat with Maura.

"What did she tell you?" Jane grabbed the dishes and brought them outside. Having lunch on their terrace, in the sun, was more appealing than staying inside even if Maura had decided upon their arrival that they would never turn the AC on. The nights were warm but not too hot, thus Jane didn't have to complain much about the temperature of the rooms.

Maura seemed to hesitate a bit. Silvers in her hands, she took her time to set them down and made sure that she would avoid Jane's eyes on her.

Since she couldn't lie, she was left with two options only: she either answered Jane or cowardly tried to change the topic of their conversation.

For some reason, a surge of boldness pushed her to go for the first option.

"She told us that their weddings on the beach were always very successful and that we could even check the photo albums they have at the reception desk... One of her cousins got married here, last year. Well, it was a symbolical ceremony but since she loved the setting so much..."

Jane raised a hand to stop Maura. Alright, she had had enough: obviously, she shouldn't have asked. She would know better next time than to be curious.

"I would be dishonored if I ever got married without ma' being around." Jane laughed. "Not because of the wedding itself but because she'd have no chance to take pics that supposedly make the whole neighborhood green with envy."

If Maura thought that Jane had a tendency to exaggerate, she had to admit that her partner was right this time. Angela would never accept to miss one of her children's wedding. As a matter of fact, she would never overcome it.

"She would get along with my father." Maura finally sat down and poured them two glasses of wine. "He accepts the way of life I've chosen but he still regrets the idea that he will probably not attend my wedding."

It was true.

Unlike her mother, her father often talked about it and how much he would love to take part in a wedding ceremony. It had nothing to do with religious reasons as Maura wasn't even christened but simply with the soft dream of seeing his only daughter get married.

"Please tell me he's not remorseful enough to use one of his samurai swords!"

Maura stopped. She slowly turned her head to look at Jane then widened her eyes in great surprise. What on Earth was Jane talking about? Perhaps she should have skipped that Margarita in the sun, earlier on the beach.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The samurai swords! His collection!" Jane hissed. "The Chinese stuff your mother told me about when you and your ninja-father had gone snorkeling."

Maura wrinkled her nose in disapproval. She sat up on her seat and pursed her lips before replying to Jane.

"Japanese. Samurai were the military-nobility and officer-caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. Thus you cannot assimilate them to the Chinese culture." Alright, at least she had made her point. "That being said, I can officially tell you that my mother was joking because my father isn't a specialist of Asia: he does not own any Samurai swords collection."

Jane blushed. She should have known better. Yet what had Constance thought of her when she had realized that she, Jane, was taking her so seriously?

"No offense but your family has a weird sense of humor."

A surge of pride caused Maura's lips to curl up in a bright smile. She nodded and started eating. It was nice to share a casual conversation with Jane, far from the uncertainty of their relationship and the so-called scoops of Bostonian tabloids.

"You will get used to it. However, my father has a collection of machetes. Is that any better?"

Jane choked on her glass of wine. Unlike Constance, Maura couldn't lie. Besides, she looked utterly serious. Thankfully, Arthur lived in Switzerland and with the new airport security system, he would never be able to fly to Boston with a machete in his hand.

"Cute story. Really."

…

Maura thanked the receptionist and walked her way back to the main path that led to the villas with a dozen of leaflets in her hands. She had just booked their helicopter ride for the next day and was rather eager to study the different routes they could take to admire the coast.

Besides, it would be their very first excursion without any other vacationer. She had liked _Isla Mujeres_ a lot but she and Jane hadn't had a chance to share proper intimate moment on the island as it was a very touristic place. At least with the helicopter ride, this wouldn't be a problem.

"Hey, volleyball partner. What's up?" Jule winked at Maura as both women came across each other by the swimming-pool bar. "I heard about the headlines thing. I'm sorry for you."

Maura politely nodded. What could she say? If she had to be honest, then she simply wanted to turn the page over the mini-scandal. She was on vacation, after all; her attorney was in charge of the issue. She didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Or at least not really. Thankfully, she wasn't in Boston and could thus avoid the buzz around the whole thing.

" _C'est la vie..._ *"

Jule smiled rather warmly. She was a nice woman. She and Maura still had to share a coffee or something to get to know each other better but she honestly seemed to be sweet and caring.

"Listen... Maybe it's none of my business but ahem... I feel concerned, somehow." Jule cast a glance behind Maura to make sure that nobody was walking towards them. "One of our daughters is gay. She still has a hard time to accept it even if my husband and I support her all the way. So... I hope neither you nor Jane go through the same right now."

"Oh."

Oh? Really? Maura began to heavily blush. Jule was being honest about a very personal matter and all she had to say in return was "oh"? Not knowing what to say, Maura focused on the lazy river on her right and tried to smile.

"It didn't necessarily go the way we had planned it." This was true, this was very true. "I have never had an issue with my sexual orientation but..."

But it was nobody's business, or at least it was not a tabloid's business.

"All I want to say is that it's gonna be alright. Maybe it's nothing but you still have our support... Everyone supports you here. If you need anything..."

It was sweet. Maura's smile grew wider. It was honestly very sweet. And true. As much as she and Jane had feigned to be a couple at first, nobody at _Hidden Beach_ had been judgemental. The vacationers had always treated them with respect, no matter their social, political or religious background.

"How old is your daughter?"

"She's eighteen." Jule shrugged, a bit disarmed. Her smile was still on her lips but it had stopped reaching her eyes. "We just hope that she'll fully accept it soon."

Ten minutes later, Maura reached back the villa. She walked inside, dropped the leaflets on the dining table then went to the first-floor terrace where Jane was lying. She cuddled against her; her lips brushing Jane's neck.

"You're alright?"

Maura nodded. She planted a kiss on Jane's jaw and settled in her partner's arms: she had never felt so fine, so lucky. In peace.

"I am."

...

" _¡_ _Hola, Suzana!_ _¿_ _Qué tal?*_ ": Hi, Suzana! How are you?

 _C'est la vie:_ That's life


	21. Chapter 21

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reveiws and messages (I promise that they will 'embrace' the rules of Hidden Beach very soon with more or less success).**_

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

Maura looked down at her hands and wrinkled her nose in obvious disgust. It was certainly not how she had imagined to spend her evening at the resort.

"Oh... Come on, Maura!" The _Hidden Beach_ staff member winked at her, a microphone in his hand. "I'm sure this isn't the first time you have sticky stuff on your hands."

The innuendo caused Jane to gag. It wasn't sexist, just the poor signature of the evening games at the resort. Maybe she would get used to it at some point but for the moment, she found their sense of humor rather lame.

"No, indeed." With a rather inappropriate seriousness, Maura looked up and locked her eyes with her interlocutor's. "Brain tissues are actually quite sticky too."

Oh boy. Jane forced a laugh to warm up the atmosphere a bit. Of course, Maura would miss the innuendo. Of course. The only issue was that not a single vacationer on the _Riviera Maya_ was in the mood for some creepy autopsy details. It didn't match with the background. Not at all.

"What do you want?" Jane shrugged. She was going to support Maura until the end, no matter what. "She's a medical examiner."

The perks of being the local star: Jane's words got a very positive influence on the crowd that started applauding anew. They were even chanting Maura's name, now.

Satisfied and rather proud of her little effect, Jane turned back to look at her partner and fist pumped.

The truth was that Maura wasn't made for this kind of activities. Not at all. The night games weren't her thing. She was very enthusiastic at the prospect of playing but she sucked at it. Jane had to admit it: it was somewhat tragic.

But who cared? Maura seemed to have fun, a lot of fun.

"I'm going to need more Tequila." Maura's hazel eyes quietly landed on Pedro, the staff member. She felt a bit sorry for not being the great entertainer Jane usually was but she was actually trying her best right now. "Half of the dose you gave me is on my hands right now!"

…

Jane walked to the bed and observed the miniature mariachi that Maura had won at the evening game. It was a cheap but cute souvenir nonetheless.

"You know, I'm usually not bad at preparing cocktails." Maura let her hands slide down Jane's shoulders. She planted a kiss in the crook of her neck and sat down in her back. "But don't ask me to try with a colander ever again!"

Jane chuckled.

The evening games had been just as stupid as one could imagine but at least Maura had had fun and she was in the right mood to even make fun of herself. They hadn't even planned on going to the games but Tanita and Jamie had convinced them over dinner. Then Maura had found herself on stage in front of a wild audience, trying desperately to prepare the cocktail of the resort with impossible utensils.

"This mariachi is so ugly."

Maura grabbed the doll and pressed a button. The miniature mariachi began to sing and dance. It made her smile. She found it entertaining. Pointless but still entertaining. She set it back down on the bedside table and settled in bed.

She felt tired but happy.

"I have checked the wedding ceremony photo albums they have at the reception desk." Maura ran a finger along Jane's shoulderblade, absentmindedly. "People are right: it is a beautiful setting."

She honestly didn't know why she even talked about that in the first place. They had spent the whole morning freaking out about a tabloid telling the story of their so-called wedding and she had stated the day before that she didn't believe much in marriage. If she wanted to make sure that Jane would feel confused then she simply had to keep going.

"Why did you check them?" Her curiosity piqued, Jane rolled on her side and locked her eyes with Maura's. "I thought it wasn't your stuff."

It wasn't Jane's either: as much as she did see in Maura a lot more than just a vacation crush, she didn't nourish wedding hopes after three days spent together.

"I actually picked the wrong photo album. I wanted to check the body painting one and ended up leafing through wedding photographies instead."

Maura didn't develop her thoughts. There was no point in saying that, maybe, the coincidence was more than just accidental. What for, anyway?

She had enjoyed the photo album but certainly didn't picture herself in the same situation.

Did she?

"Body painting?" Jane snorted. "Please tell me you don't want to drag me to this thing..." She had escaped from the Maya artefacts conference earlier in the evening. It wasn't to end up going all Picasso over Maura's body. "Looks like I've missed a lot while I was at the spa."

"I don't know if you have missed a lot but I have missed you."

Maura was aware of the slightly cheesy character of her remark but she was being honest and couldn't care less if she sounded a bit immature. She had missed Jane, for whatever reason. They had been apart from each other for an hour and a half only but she had terribly missed her partner during this short lapse of time.

Time to go for another topic.

"It's been seven days already." Maura swallowed hard and hid her sudden vulnerability behind a warm smile. "Time flies by."

Jane didn't nod in approval. Retrospectively, she and Maura had gone through a lot during this past week.

First, they had found out that they would stay at a nudist resort. Then they had faced a paramount shift in the nature of their relationship. They hadn't had the time to get used to it that Maura's parents had showed up unexpectedly. And now the tabloid headlines.

It hadn't been a very restful week, actually.

"It's been strange..."

Jane's murmur passed underneath Maura's skin and rushed to her heart to embrace it almost lovingly. She understood what her partner meant for she felt exactly the same. As a matter of fact, she was lacking words to describe the storm of emotions that had risen within herself during these past few days.

"You don't regret any of this, do you?"

For a couple of seconds, Jane felt like saying that she could have done without the tabloid fiasco but she realized at the last minute that Maura was talking about them. Did she miss their friendship? No. As a matter of fact, she couldn't because this friendship was still here. Did she regret having crossed the lines to embrace a romantic relationship? Certainly not.

"No!" Her voice shook a little bit. She had assumed that the semblance of conversation they had had the evening before had swept away any kind of doubt regarding her motives. "Absolutely not..."

Maura nodded and closed the distance that separated her body from Jane's. She took her partner in her arms and wrapped her legs over hers.

"I am sorry for the tabloid headlines." Maura had felt like apologizing for a while already but she hadn't found the proper moment to do it. "It's my fault. I'm the one who asked you to visit the turtle farm. None of this would have happened if we hadn't gone there."

As much as the reasoning made sense, Jane couldn't help thinking that Maura was wrong. She wasn't the one to blame. Actually if there was one person to accuse then it had to be the so-called journalist who had found the picture online and had made up a story from it.

"But the rest wouldn't have happened."

Or at least probably not. Neither of them could know for sure how life would have turned if they hadn't accidentally shared this kiss on _Isla Mujeres_ but they didn't regret what was now happening. It was unexpected but sweet.

Jane's remark caused Maura's heart to flutter. Not only did it mean that Jane didn't regret any of this but that she actually enjoyed it quite much.

"Is it bad that I don't want to think about Boston?"

An uncomfortable silence followed Maura's question. It actually echoed something that lay deep in Jane, something that she hadn't dared to face so far.

They weren't there yet. They were still at this stage when they wanted nothing but touch, and kiss. And caress. As if they were suddenly catching back on time and missed opportunities. It was frenzy, and delicate. Intense.

Sweetly unknown.

"No, I don't think so." Jane closed her eyes. The coming and going of Maura's fingertips on her arm rocked her sleep. "I don't wanna think about it either. Not just yet."

Besides, nobody was supposed to think about work and the monotony of daily life when on vacation. Jane was supposed to enjoy the sun, the warm temperatures of Mexico and this unexpected story she was now sharing with Maura. She had to focus on the time being. Thinking about the near future would do just harm. She knew it.

"Your mother doesn't believe us."

Jane laughed. Maura was right: if Angela had ended up believing that they weren't married, she was a lot less sure about the nature of Jane and Maura's current relationship. Neither of them had wanted to say the truth. They would, at some point. Of course. But it was all so new that they wanted to see how things could go first.

It was different for Maura's parents as they had happened to show up unannounced. Hopefully, they wouldn't tell anything to Angela.

Or else Jane could officially renounce to the idea of ever coming back to Massachusetts.

"For some reason, I can't help thinking about the day we met, at the _Division One Cafe_. You know I've told ma' about it more times than I can remember but what you ignore is that she's always told me that it was meant to be: you and I, we were meant to be. Or else I wouldn't remember this moment so easily, and so often."

It had taken Jane a long time to accept her mother's words. As much as she had never questioned back her friendship with Maura, she had been afraid of the weight of it; of all the things it implied. Her mother's statement regarding it was true but it had only managed to freak her out.

And now she was just fine with it. At last.

"I apologize for thinking that you were a prostitute." Maura chuckled. Out of its context, her sentence sounded probably terribly wrong and weird. "Wouldn't it be a funny story to tell our children?"

First, she alluded to weddings and now she talked about children. Really? Panicked, she looked for a way to soften the stupidity she had just said. In vain. Nothing would come up, nothing but the blatant realization that she should have remained quiet in the first place.

Jane leaned up on her elbow and looked down at Maura. She locked her dark eyes with her partner's hazel ones and smiled. There was no anger on her face, even less the slightest ounce of fear. She was fine; fine and serene.

"It would be nice, indeed." She leaned over and captured Maura's lips in a kiss. "Unusual but sweet."


	22. Chapter 22

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews and messages, I really appreciate them.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

"Welcome to the _Tour Tulum Riviera Maya_. Is it your first helicopter ride?"

Jane and Maura shook their head. They had had to use helicopters a few times already to reach a crime scene but this wasn't the kind of details they were eager to share with the airport employee.

"No, I am quite used to it."

Maura's remark caused Jane to chuckle.

What could she say? She was in a glorious mood. For once, she hadn't complained at the prospect of waking up early. Their private taxi was waiting for them at the gates of _Hidden Beach_ and they had reached the airport by 9.30am.

Just on time for their tour.

"It's never her first time... For anything!"

What on Earth? Maura widened her eyes and stared at Jane as if she had lost her mind. This was not the kind of remark she, Maura, felt like hearing about herself first thing in the morning. What was the employee going to think about her, now?

Jane swallowed hard as she realized that her statement was enough to owe her a nomination for an innuendo award. She cleared her voice and settled her sunglasses on top of her head.

"I mean... She's done a lot of stuff already." That wasn't any better. As a matter of fact, it was even worse. "Never mind."

Jane turned around and walked away. Obviously, it was better to let Maura deal with the paperwork. Something told her that if she opened her mouth again, she would out Maura in front of half of _Playa del Carmen_ airport. She sat on a leather armchair and patiently waited for her partner to come back to her instead.

This was safer.

"We have been upgraded!" Maura's smile was pure, and graceful. She held out a form to Jane. "I need your signature. We're going to have the sixty-five-minute ride instead of the thirty-minute one... She is convinced that we are on our honeymoon."

Jane turned around and looked at the airport employee. The woman smiled back at her with an extreme politeness.

"And you confirmed her thoughts?" Jane raised an eyebrow before smirking at Maura. "I thought you couldn't lie."

"Oh but I certainly didn't lie." Maura signed her very own form before grabbing back Jane's. "I simply didn't let her know that she was wrong. Nuance."

With a self-confidence that only sweet sunny days could bring, Maura happily trotted back to the employee. She gave her the forms then went to sit next to Jane.

The pilot would be there within fifteen minutes. In the meantime, they could enjoy a coffee or a tea for free as it was part of the ride.

"So what's the ride's about?"

Of course, Jane hadn't bothered having a look at the leaflets Maura had brought back to the villa the day before. She knew what a helicopter ride was and she assumed that they would mostly see the sea as well as the coast. Did their unexpected upgrade simply mean that they would go higher up North? Or down South?

Maura slapped her forearm.

"You wouldn't be asking if you hadn't been lazy!" Maura crossed her arms on her chest and pouted. Thankfully, she didn't remain upset for too long either. She couldn't: Jane was bringing on a silver platter the occasion to lecture her about the area: it was too good of an opportunity to be missed. "It's a sixty-five-minute tour to the two most important sites of the _Riviera Maya_ : the archeological site of _Tulum_ , the only one on the ocean, then the biosphere of _Sian-Ka'an_ which means "the place where the sky is born". It was declared a humanity reserve by UNESCO."

Jane nodded. Maura's explanation was rather satisfying. At least she had spared her insignificant so-called fun facts. The tour seemed great, more than just beaches and the Caribbean Sea.

"A biosphere?"

"With twenty-three archeological sites and lagoons..." Maura looked for the leaflet in her totebag. She had brought an extra one for Jane. "Here it is."

A cup of coffee in her hand, Jane squinted her eyes at the leaflet. It was an unexpected excursion. They had decided to spend the whole day outside _Hidden Beach_ ; just the two of them.

The helicopter tour barely lasted an hour but they wanted to visit a couple of small towns in the area. As a matter of fact, Maura had insisted on the cultural benefit of the visit: Jane simply saw in it the occasion to spend a full day surrounded by people who actually wore clothes.

"Jane and Maura?" A man in his forties walked to their seats. He took his Aviators sunglasses off and flashed them a bright smile. "I'm Daniel, your pilot for the tour. Welcome to _Playa del Carmen_."

…

Three steps. Maura made three steps outside the airport and lost her smile right away. She cast a furious glance at Jane then pursed her lips.

Jane rolled her eyes.

"Gosh, will you ever stop?" Jane laughed. "I was just being polite, Maura. Polite. Nothing else!"

Maura loudly snorted and crossed her arms on her chest. She walked to the bus stop and leaned against the back of the bench. She couldn't disagree more with Jane.

"Oh, please. You took his email." She lifted her chin, in defiance. "His email! I really didn't know you were into the _Top Gun_ type."

The reference caused Jane to smile. It was rare when Maura managed to talk about movies that weren't obscure European versions of intellectual stories. Her jealousy was rather cute too; completely stupid but cute nonetheless.

"Dan was super cool with us. And he's a Red Sox fan. This is how we, Red Sox fans, interact with each other."

"Oh, so now you call him 'Dan'?" Maura ran her tongue over her lips. A couple was walking towards the bus stop but she couldn't care less: she was in the middle of a scene and wasn't done with it. Not yet. "What happened to 'Daniel'? Was it too formal?"

Maura's reaction was very surprising. Jane would have never imagined that she would see the day when Maura Isles would lose her nerves to some helicopter pilot who had simply been chatty during a touristic tour. He had even taken pictures of the two of them in each other's arms. He had been very friendly; very nice.

Jane had certainly not flirted with him in any way.

"Didn't you just love _Sian-Ka'an_? The lagoons were so beautiful... It's a cool place. Maybe we could go there next week. What do you think?"

"Oh don't you dare changing topic!" The bus arrived but Maura didn't stop. She simply went for a seat in the back after buying two tickets for Jane and her then resumed her ridiculous rant. "I'm not done with Daniel."

Jane cracked up. She took her digital cam out of her bag and started checking the pictures she had taken during their tour. She had loved every minute of it, not because of Daniel but because she had done it with Maura. There could have been a thousand Top Gun guys that she wouldn't have noticed any of them.

"He has family in Boston, Maura."

"How convenient." Maura pursed her lips anew and focused on the road by the window. She knew that her behavior was very childish but she couldn't help it. She didn't like it when Jane talked to someone else. As a matter of fact, she didn't like it when Jane was friendly to anyone else but her. "Very convenient."

Jane shook her head. She was amused: Maura had nothing to worry about, absolutely nothing. She had talked to Daniel the way she talked to her BPD colleagues. The tone had been casual. Relaxed.

Appropriate to a touristic helicopter ride.

"Aw... Look at this one. We're great on it. I'll send it to ma', tonight. She's gonna be thrilled..." Jane showed the aforesaid picture to Maura and smiled. They both really looked ecstatic on it. Obviously, it was before Maura's jealousy had showed up. "You know what? I should take helicopter lessons in Boston. I'd love that."

Maura mumbled a semblance of reply.

It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed the tour but she had suddenly seen her enthusiasm sink in the sea as Jane and Daniel had started bonding over the Red Sox. She knew Jane for over five years now and she had never reached such degree of conversation with her when it came to baseball.

She was taking it badly. Yes. And so what? She was in her right. Somehow.

"You bet you would... Then you'd have one more point in common with your lovely Dan..."

The bus stopped in the historic district of the small town. Jane and Maura politely waved at the driver before stepping out of the bus.

"Dan's not lovely. He's just a nice guy." Jane's dark eyes stopped on Maura. Was she really going to be grumpy all day long? "Jeez, what do you want me to tell you? I swear to God that I'm not into him."

Maura made a few steps on the main square. It was crowded, tourists were coming and going everywhere. She squinted her eyes at the area, looking for some shadow. It was hot, too hot in the sun.

"Words..."

She turned on her heels and was about to walk towards a palm tree when she felt a pressure on her wrist. She looked down at it. Jane had grabbed her hand to pull her closer to her body.

What was she doing? They were in public, in the middle of a small Mexican town. This wasn't _Hidden Beach_.

Not bothering the slightest bit about the crowd of strangers, Jane slid a hand on Maura's nape before capturing her lips in a long and deep kiss. There was nothing shy about her move. On the contrary. It was bold, and sweetly authoritative.

A proud smile lit up her features as she broke apart and locked her eyes with Maura's.

"This is Mexico, Jane. Not San Francisco." Maura's voice resounded low. She wasn't angry anymore. How could she? Jane's bold move had swept away her jealousy within a second. She was simply worried, now. "This isn't really accepted here. We have to keep a low profile, you know."

Jane shrugged.

"This isn't Jamaica either. Look..." She made a step towards Maura and wrapped her arms around her partner's waist. She had never dared to show public display of affection before. Anywhere. It was a first, an unexpected one. "Dan is just a cool cat but I could barely remember the color of his eyes. While yours... Yours are engraved forever in my mind."

Maura looked down at the ground as Jane's words passed underneath her skin to rush to her heart in the loveliest way ever. She hadn't expected that.

"This is nice..."

"Great. Now you'll understand I need to call him because a guy who has the same Aviators sunglasses as me... Gosh, he has to be part of my life. Prince Charming does exist!" Jane winced in pain as Maura slapped her arm. "Ouch!" Her mock disappeared quickly though, soon replaced by a warm smile. "I'm just kidding, Maura."


	23. Chapter 23

_**Author's note: thank you very much everyone for the lovely messages and reviews; I think we have reached the end of the first half of the fic (that gives you an idea about the length of the story once it will be completed).**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

As they reached the first restaurant by the sea, Jane realized that Xpu-Ha illustrated a very different version of white-sand beaches from what she had seen so far. The place was empty, and incredibly quiet. A ribbon of white spread in the distance while transparent waters embraced the ground almost lovingly.

It looked like one of these postcards that used to make her sigh.

Satisfied of her partner's genuine smile, Maura grabbed Jane's hand to drag her towards a little table by the sea. The waves crashed a foot away from them: itt would be perfect for a romantic lunch.

She politely exchanged a few words with a waitress then sat down at the table. Her grumpy mood was nothing but a vague memory, now. She had forgotten about Daniel and her ridiculous jealousy over him.

Jane was all hers again and nobody would ever be able to disturb their delicate harmony. She was certain of it.

With discretion, she took her sandals off then sank her feet in the warm sand. The soothing sensation made her smile. She cast a glance at another table where a family of four was having lunch then focused back on Jane.

"Are you happy?"

The question might have sounded odd but Maura wanted a honest answer. Because she was happy; very happy. As a matter of fact, she hadn't reached such degree of happiness in a long while.

Everything seemed to finally make sense, after years of what-ifs and doubts. She had found a balance in her existence; thanks to Jane. A part of her still thought it was rather unexpected but something had started telling her that it wasn't accidental. It was meant to be. What she lived with Jane was an evidence.

"Yes, I am." Jane must have understood the importance of the question because she didn't tease Maura. She adopted the same serious tone as her partner instead before letting her feet caress Maura's ankles under the table. "It's... A wonderful place, a perfect day."

 _With you._

Jane didn't manage to put words on her feelings but she still could say that something was happening, something deep inside herself. It rose with a quiet strength and tightened her heart. Warmly.

Maybe it simply had to do with the context. Wasn't it easy to feel relaxed, here? It was a paradise on Earth; a real one.

"I apologize for my behavior. I haven't been nice to you." The menu in her hands, Maura locked her eyes with Jane's and smiled at her apologetically. A part of her didn't want to talk about it but another part kept on yelling that she had to say something. "I'm not usually very possessive. I don't really know what... What happened."

She meant it. Maura meant it. She had gone way too far after the helicopter tour, for a reason that she couldn't properly explain. She had never been the jealous kind, or at least not so badly. She had honestly trusted her partners just as she trusted Jane now but it was nonetheless different. Her heart didn't react the same way.

She was suddenly being impulsive, and stubborn.

What had happened to her usual wisdom?

"At least it means you care about me. Listen..." Jane cast a quick glance on her left to make sure that the waitress wouldn't interrupt her. "You can trust me. I won't... I won't fool around. I'm not like that."

Maura nodded. The worst of all was that she perfectly knew it. Jane was being sincere and what she was saying was nothing but the truth.

"I'll do my best to... Control myself." It sounded stupid and very formal but Maura hadn't found any other way to express her determination. She looked at the menu then bit her lower lip. "What are you going to have?"

" _Pollo_ *...!" Jane closed her menu then set it down on the table. She was in a very good mood, a light one. She grabbed Maura's hand and absentmindedly started playing with her partner's fingers. " _Arroz con pollo_.*"

A surge of pride caused Maura's hazel eyes to glimmer.

"Your Spanish is improving." She felt like adding _cariño_ * but feared that it would make Jane feel uncomfortable. She had never liked giving her pet names. Their new status could have justified it but she didn't want to put any kind of pressure on Jane. "Do you think we should send a postcard to your mother?"

Random question. Jane chuckled: for some reason, she had the feeling to be extremely domestic right now which was weird considering that she and Maura had become lovers four days earlier only.

The waitress prevented her from replying to Maura. The young girl took their orders after offering them a homemade cocktail. Jane would have never imagined that Mexico was so much into drinks. If she had known earlier then she would have moved to _Playa del Carmen_ a long time ago already.

"These are the best vacations I've ever had. Thank you for forcing me to come here, Maura."

It had to be the alcohol. Jane suspiciously looked at her glass and frowned. She didn't want to be all lovey-dovey but it was exactly what was going on right now. If she didn't stop sipping on this delicious cocktail, then chances were that she would end up singing some love song to her partner.

"Well, they're surely taking the sweetest unexpected turn ever."

That too.

Maura's indirect allusion to their new relationship status made Jane blush. She looked down at her plate and mumbled a semblance of reply. She was growing confident but compliments still had a shy effect on her.

Hopefully, it was only a matter of days.

"We'll have to take a selfie on this beach. I so need to send it to Frost."

Her childish remark found an echo in Maura's laugh. There was something extremely amusing in the idea of making her colleagues green with envy. And Xpu-Ha was the perfect place for it.

"We have to buy a little something for Susie too." Maura raised a hand to interrupt whatever Jane was about to say. "We wouldn't be here without her. Admit it."

Alright. Maura wasn't completely wrong. Besides, Jane started being more than okay with _Hidden Beach_ even if life was so much easier when strangers actually wore clothes. Like now. But staying at a nudist resort wasn't as bad as what she had imagined in the first place.

"Just give her that stupid mariachi toy. It woke me up again this morning!"

An amused smile played on Maura's lips. Jane was right: the doll seemed to have a mind of its own as it had started dancing and singing at 5am for some strange reason that she couldn't explain.

"But I won it! I worked hard for it. Obviously, you have no idea what it's like to prepare a cocktail with a colander."

…

Since lunch had been perfect and that they really enjoyed the beach of Xpu-Han, Jane and Maura had decided to spend the rest of the day there. After a short walk on the long white-sand ribbon, they had settled next to an abandoned tree trunk.

Far from the road.

Iced-coffees in her hand, Jane sat down next to her partner. She had bought the drinks at the restaurant where they had had lunch. Of course, they could have easily drunk their beverages there but Maura had insisted to go a bit further down the beach to lie down in the sun for a nap.

" _Muchas gracias_ *..."

Maura took a sip of her iced-coffee but quickly set it down to turn around and sit on Jane's lap. She wrapped her arms around her partner's neck and started kissing her jaw line.

Jane choked on her drink.

"What are you doing?" Purely rhetorical question, of course. She knew what Maura was doing and what she was hoping for. Panicked, Jane turned her head on her right then on her left. Nobody was coming. "This is a public beach, Maura."

"Yes, but it is empty." Her hand slid down Jane's breasts and soon came to rest between her legs. "Come on... Isn't what nap time is for, anyway?"

Jane had literally frozen. She didn't even dare to touch Maura anymore. Very slowly, she put her drink down in the sand and took a deep breath. She had to be wise, to think wisely. Maura's hands and lips on her didn't help much though.

"I thought Mexico wasn't San Francisco. What happened to that?"

With her typical casualness, Maura stopped drawing a path of kisses down her partner's neck and locked her eyes with Jane's instead. She looked innocent, and very playful.

"I wasn't aroused, this morning. I was pissed. Besides, we were surrounded by a crowd of tourists. Look at this beach." She motioned the place with her head. "There's nobody but us."

And the restaurant. There were people out there. Jane knew it since she had just come back from it.

Okay, it was somewhat further down the beach but still, they weren't completely alone. What if someone showed up? What if someone walked in on them? Did they risk something? She didn't know anything about Mexican laws.

Even less about Mexican jails.

"But..." Jane gasped as Maura's hand passed under the fabric of her bikini bottom. Needless to say that this battle would be hard to fight; very hard. "Maura, we can't..."

Maura started moving her hips to match the pace of her hidden caresses. Her lips resumed their exploration on Jane's neck.

"Nobody can see us, it's fine. Just keep an eye on what's going on in front of you, I'll do the same on my side." Her laugh echoed against Jane's ear. "Be adventurous, Jane. Be a little wild."

Jane rolled her eyes. Be wild? Really? Easy to say when you were the one at the head of the whole thing. She had no idea whether she was in full capacity to control her very own senses. Yet as much as the situation stressed her out, she had to admit that Maura's expert moves were efficient: she was already panting hard.

At least it wouldn't last very long.

"You know you can touch me. Why won't you touch my breasts?" Maura's lips went for Jane's with a barely contained sensuality. She then looked into her partner's eyes and waited for an answer to her question. "Touch me, please."

Under other circumstances, Jane wouldn't have needed Maura to ask her to do it. As a matter of fact, she had never been particularly shy with her since they had started sleeping together. But the current context completely blocked her.

Aroused and frustrated, Maura grabbed Jane's hand then quietly rest it on her breast. Perhaps it was all Jane needed: a little help to finally let go and enjoy the moment.

"You have never had sex in a public place before?"

Jane swallowed hard. She didn't know if it was because of the sound of the waves on her left, the way Maura's hot breath kept on brushing her ear or simply hearing her partner's husky voice talked to her about intimate details of her life but she had rarely been so turned on.

"Not on a public Mexican beach at 2.30pm, no..."

The tip of Maura's tongue started playing with her shoulder blade. It was getting hot, all of a sudden; very hot. Maura sped up the pace of her fingers between Jane's legs and winked.

"Then let's work on your bucket list."

...

 _Pollo: chicken_

 _Arroz con pollo: rice with chicken_

 _Cariño: honey_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Author's note: thank you very much for the reviews, suggestions and PMs; I'm glad to see you're still enjoying this story.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

"So what did you do after the helicopter tour?"

Jane's cheeks began to burn. As much as she and Maura had visited a small town and had had lunch on Xpu-Ha beach, this wasn't the first answer that came to her mind. Yet the first answer that came to her mind couldn't be said out loud. Never ever.

"We lay in the sun for a while." If Tanita's question embarrassed Jane, it absolutely didn't bother Maura. A bright smile curled up her lips as she tilted her head and nodded at the young woman. "It was a beautiful day for outdoor activities." She turned to her partner, delighted. "Wasn't it, Jane?"

It was nothing but teasing and she knew it but Maura couldn't resist. Besides, Jane had finally managed to put her fears aside to enjoy a moment of boldness. It was good to see her dare to put a foot out of her comfort zone, for once. Maura hoped that it would happen again more or less soon. She had never liked any sort of routine.

"Ahem..." Jane was red like a brick. Hands in the pockets of her jean shorts, she looked down at her feet and nodded. "Yeah, yeah."

Her reaction caused Tanita to laugh. She wasn't particularly innocent but it didn't seem to hit her mind that Maura was alluding to something a bit wilder than a mere afternoon nap.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you had fun. You're so luck to have won this tour!"

Maura grinned. She was enjoying the misunderstanding way too much. Her hand came to rest on Jane's buttock as she grabbed her partner to pull her closer.

"Oh, we did." She nodded. "We really had fun." And more than once. "I recommend the helicopter tour. I'm sure you will love it. It was a nice experience."

Jane snorted. This time, she wouldn't let Maura win the game; not so easily. With a fake casualness, She straightened up and looked at Tanita with a surge of mischievousness.

"Especially if you've liked Top Gun." She turned to look at her partner. "Right, Maura?"

…

Maura walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel and squinted her eyes at Jane's sheepish smile. She brought her hands to her hips in annoyance and pursed her lips.

"Move on, Jane. Yes, you made me pay for my innuendo..." She walked to their closet and picked a cotton dress. "But the best jokes are the shortest ones."

Top Gun. Something told Maura that she would hear about it whenever she would try to tease Jane now. She had honestly turned the page over her ridiculous jealousy towards Daniel but Jane would use it against her anytime.

Karma: it was nothing but karma. It annoyed Maura to say it but she knew it was the truth.

"Why won't you have a shower instead of mocking me from this armchair?" She dropped the bath towel and stared at Jane, completely naked. "Hmm? Why?"

Jane folded her legs and raised a mischievous eyebrow. She felt at ease in spite of Maura's nudity. It was a first somehow: she had never liked facing her partners naked until now. For some reason, it used to make her feel embarrassed. But not with Maura.

"Because the view is better from where I am."

At ease and bold. Her very own remark surprised her a lot. At least it got the credits to take Maura slightly aback. For a couple of seconds, she remained still; and quiet. She had really not expected Jane to make such comment.

She didn't need more to play along though. With a perfectly controlled sensuality,Maura walked to Jane and sat on her lap before locking her eyes with her partner's dark ones. Her tongue caressed her lips suggestively.

"Well... Enjoy, then."

Maura was about to kiss Jane when a beep caused her to jump. The sound came from her tablet: Susie Chang was calling her on Skype.

She reluctantly stood up again and put her dress on without any underwear. There was no time for such details right now. She grabbed her tablet and settled on the small first-floor terrace with it.

"Good evening, Susie. How are you?"

The sun was still hot. It slid along Maura's back like a quiet caress. She relaxed on her seat and smiled at her employee. It was nothing but routine: she simply wanted to know how things were going at work.

Maura may be in another country right now, she was still the chief medical examiner of Massachusetts and felt the need to keep an eye on Boston.

"Fine, thank you. We have received the..."

Jane listened to the conversation for a while before getting tired of it. Maura was right: she should take advantage of the break to have a shower and get ready for dinner. If only Susie had called a bit later though.

Frustrated to not have been able to go any further with Maura, Jane crossed the bedroom. She grabbed the bath towel her partner had dropped on the floor and walked to the bathroom.

She got undressed then stepped under the shower in no time.

She was surprised of the behavior she had showed earlier on in Xpu-Ha. She would have never imagined having sex on a public beach, even less with Maura. But the truth was that she had had fun; a lot of fun.

Breaking the law had seemed to be appealing.

Nobody had walked in on them anyway and they had remained rather discreet. Jane blushed as a wave of reminiscence hit her mind. They had been discreet but still quite bold. Or at least _she_ had been quite bold. Maura was not as prude as she was, she had probably done many things that Jane would never even dare to try.

She grabbed a bath towel and wrapped herself in it. She knew that Maura's Skype call would last a bit but since her colleagues would probably stop by Susie's desk to say hi, Jane didn't want to miss the opportunity to tease Frost about Xpu-Ha beach.

"It's basic anthropology, actually." Maura turned around and smiled at Jane as her partner stepped out on the terrace fresh from the shower. "Susie says hi."

Jane leaned over. She squinted her eyes at the screen then relaxed as she realized that nobody but Susie was around. She was still wrapped in her bath towel, this wasn't the kind of situation she wanted to share with half of the morgue and the BPD.

"What's up, Chang?"

Maura's employee waved back. She adjusted her glasses on top of her nose and seemed to observe Jane rather carefully. She nodded.

"You're very tanned, Detective Rizzoli... Mexico treats you well, I see."

Jane looked down at the top of her chest.

Her olive skin had definitely turned darker and she could easily see the lines of her bikini top as well. She shrugged, not really knowing how to take the compliment. It was nice but talking about something like that with Susie Chang was odd. They usually debated over a dead body, not a suntanned one.

"You're a bit off-cam, Jane. Sit down." Maura grabbed her partner by the waist and forced her to settle on her lap. "That's better. Now she can see you."

What on Earth? Jane stared at Maura as if she had lost her mind. As much as Susie wasn't in the same room as them, Jane was still convinced that Maura's employee could easily see that she had sat on Maura's lap and not on a proper seat.

The move was quite intimate, especially since she was wearing nothing but a bath towel.

"So... How's Boston doing? Are tabloids still having fun and all?"

Jane's sarcasm caused Susie to timidly smile. Of course, she knew about the tabloid headlines; just as she knew that the BPD bets had been vain and wrong. She bit her lips and seemed to focus on something on her right; something that was off-cam.

"Boston has been quiet. As I was saying to Dr. Isles, things seem to be going a bit slow here right now. I hope Mexico has more to offer to you. I mean, I hope you've found ways to spice it up. I mean... Err..."

Jane and Maura remained quiet for long seconds. _To spice it up_? This was an interesting choice of words from Susie. Her curiosity piqued, Maura slightly leaned over and cleared her voice to speak.

"What... Do you mean, exactly?"

No, Maura didn't trust her instinct. Yet she had to say that she sensed something, something she didn't want to even sense in the first place. Her fingers had stopped wandering on Jane's hips. She was now just as still as her partner who was obviously intrigued as well.

"Oh... You know..."

No, they didn't.

And that was why Maura was asking in the first place.

Trying to ignore the sudden fast pace of her heartbeats, Maura took a deep breath and talked anew.

"Have my parents tried to reach you or anyone else, lately?"

This was it: this was the question Maura didn't want to ask but had no choice if she wanted to make sure that she was on the wrong path and boy she hoped she was wrong about this one. Jane's stiffled moan of despair didn't help her much. On the contrary. It only managed to increase her latent panic.

"They might have sent a postcard."

 _Might have sent_? Really? Jane pursed her lips. What was Susie trying to do, exactly? Constance and Arthur either had sent something or they hadn't sent anything. It wasn't more complicated than that.

Yes or no. It was quite basic, really.

"... To whom?"

At least Maura showed more composure than Jane. Though it was nothing but a game of appearances. She was doing just as bad as her partner right now. Her instinct was proving her that she had been right and she didn't like it much.

"Well..." Susie Chang had never looked so embarrassed. What was it that every time she called Maura and Jane on Skype, everything turned bad? "To Detective Rizzoli's mother, perhaps?"

Maura didn't hear Jane gasp because she lost herself in her very own gasp. This couldn't be good. This couldn't be good at all.

"What does the postcard say?"

Maura's voice was blank now. At this point of the conversation, she knew for a fact that she and Jane were screwed; and not in a good way at all. With a shaking hand, Susie grabbed the aforesaid postcard and showed it to the webcam before clearing her voice to read the message.

" _Dear Angela, we are currently on a Caribbean cruise with the Rotary Club and are writing you this postcard from Saint-Lucia. Accidentally, our ship sailed in Playa del Carmen. We spent a lovely day there with Maura and Jane. What an adorable couple they are_..."

Jane buried her face in her hands.

"Oh... Fuck it."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Jane took a deep breath, opened her eyes anew and blankly stared at the screen of her tablet. She hadn't written the slightest word yet. The mail page was still as white as a Boston snow day. A laugh passed her lips as the comparison hit her mind. She was so far from Massachusetts right now.

So far and yet so close to it.

She didn't know where to start, even less how. The only sure thing was that she couldn't remain quiet, not after what Susie had told her and Maura. She had to reach her mother one way or another and, since she wasn't ready for a face-to-face, a mail seemed to be a better idea.

"So...?" Maura discreetly approached her partner and stood behind her to check the tablet. The absence of typed text made her wince. "You know, maybe a phone call would be better."

For a reason that she couldn't justify, she had been mad at Susie for a long while after she had ended up their Skype call. It wasn't her assistant's fault if her parents had outed them though. Susie had simply been honest. She had done nothing but read the postcard Angela had dropped on the floor at the _Division One Cafe_ , obviously in shock.

Susie had simply assumed that putting the aforesaid postcard in a safe place was the best thing to do. And she had been right; to an extent.

"I don't wanna call her." Annoyance rose within Jane's voice. She didn't want to be harsh with Maura and even less argue with her but she had already told her why she preferred the email option at least a thousand times. It was slightly going on her nerves. "The letter's good."

Maura nodded. Jane wasn't entirely wrong though she had needed the whole night to come to this conclusion. And it was almost noon now. The more she waited, the more confused her mother would be.

"It's going to be alright, relax."

Jane snorted. Loudly. She envied Maura's casualness because her partner seemed untouchable and so peaceful compared to the storm that was now chasing her upside down life. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Easy for you to say that. Your parents already know... _That_."

Maura tried to ignore the way Jane had pronounced her last word but it nonetheless tightened a bitter grip on her heart. Perhaps, she shouldn't be as sweet as she was now. Perhaps, Jane needed something a bit more abrupt; a bit less pink.

"It's never easy for anyone... That's the main problem, actually: it's never easy. Never." Feeling that Jane needed her support in spite of her reluctance to show it, Maura sat down at the table and looked at the trees; at the Caribbean Sea in the distance. "But you'll see that you'll feel better afterwards."

The truth was that Maura was just as anxious as Jane. She didn't know how to interpret Angela's reaction, even less her current silence. Was there a chance for her to condemn their relationship? Curiously, it hadn't crossed Maura's mind until now. She had always assumed that Angela would be supportive, if only because she knew who Jane's partner happened to be.

"But how?" Jane laughed, rather bitterly. She frowned and pursed her lips as her tablet turned dark. She had forgotten to turn off the economy mode. "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell her. I mean... Honestly how could I? I don't even know anything anymore. My life... My life's blurry. I don't know what I'm supposed to be... What it makes of me."

At least she hadn't locked herself in her bubble. At least she hadn't succumbed to the hypnotizing whirl of feelings that would have eaten her up sooner than later. She tried to put words on everything. She simply wasn't succeeding.

"Just be yourself."

Maura grabbed her partner's tablet and turned it on again. She straightened up on her seat and squinted her eyes in an effort of concentration. Her reaction confused Jane.

"What are you doing? Ma' doesn't need a selfie."

Maura smirked. Under other circumstances, she would have taken the remark rather badly but a sarcastic Jane meant a healthy Jane and it was all what mattered in the end.

"I'm going to help you write this mail. After all, I have my part of responsibility in all this. You're not alone, Jane. And you don't have to be."

It was the sweetest thing Jane could expect from Maura. The words passed underneath her skin with a warmth Jane had never experienced before. She smiled; openly, brightly. Her ego was bruised but she honestly needed Maura's help.

She needed it now more than ever.

"Thank you." Her whisper barely hit the air. "What do you identify as?" Jane subconsciously jumped before the boldness of her question. She had never talked about it before, even less with Maura. "I mean..."

"I don't know." Maura made a vague gesture of the hand, as if she were sweeping away her incapacity to properly answer. "I mean... I know what you mean. I just..." She shrugged. "I was being honest the day I told you that I didn't like labels much. They've never brought anything good to me."

The absence of details made Jane frown. She didn't like the way this conversation was going because she didn't like thinking Maura had been in pain at some point in her life. Of course, it had happened – like for anyone – but Jane had a hard time accepting it. Seeing her partner in pain was unbearable.

It had always been unbearable.

Applause rose in the distance, it came from the beach. A volleyball team must have won a game. Jane had turned down the invitation when Jule had stopped by earlier in the morning to ask her whether she wanted to pair with her.

She wasn't in the mood, not just yet. Her priority was the mail she wanted to send.

"Okay..."

…

They had skipped lunch. They wouldn't have been able to eat anything anyway, not as long as Angela wouldn't reach them back one way or another.

The wait had seemed to last forever but it had actually taken Jane's mother barely a couple of hours: the required time for her to check her mails and send a text message to her daughter.

"The two of you are idiots." Angela rolled her eyes. She had missed Susie's Skype call in the morning because of work but she had insisted to get online immediately after reading the mail Jane had sent her. "Complete idiots."

Maura swallowed hard.

What was she supposed to reply to that? Angela didn't look very angry but a bit annoyed nonetheless. Jane moaned and forced a word to come out.

"Ma'..."

Angela raised her hand to interrupt her daughter. She was in full control of the Skype call and didn't seem eager to reverse the roles.

"I'm not done, Jane Clementine Rizzoli. What I'm about to tell you, to tell the two of you, is very important so please let me finish." The matriarch cleared her voice and nervously moved on her seat. "If I had known about the bets going on at the BPD, I would have put some money in the game too. I thought you'd been together for a while and that you just didn't know how to tell me... Am I such a bad actress that I desperately tried to let you understand that I was fine with me and you didn't get it? Maura is family to me! Isn't that telling?"

Jane blinked.

Alright, this was not how she had imagined things to go. Of course, it was a lot better than all the dramatic scenarios she had built in her head but she didn't know how to react nonetheless. Not to this. She was being mocked, after all.

It was anything but pleasant.

"You've got my blessing in 1932, Jane." Angela chuckled. "I can't believe you actually want my blessing... Of course, I'm fine with it. And I'm not surprised by it."

"But..." Maura's voice timidly pierced through Angela's loud speech. "If you don't mind me to ask... Err... Why dropping the postcard the way you did?"

Maura forced a smile. She was walking on eggs. She didn't mean to sound intrusive nor impolite but if Angela was fine with her and Jane's relationship then she didn't understand the reaction her partner's mother had had the day before when she had read the postcard.

Angela calmed down right away. Her features deepened as a veil of seriousness wrapped her mind. She shrugged.

"I think I got a little jealous. I mean... You told your parents before telling me while you see me on a daily basis. I felt... Betrayed? I always got that you'd need some time before letting me know but I had hoped I'd be the first one to officially know."

Jane's heart tightened. She blinked to sweep away burning tears that were asking for nothing but to roll down her cheeks.

"It's an accident." Jane swallowed hard. Her voice was shaking but she couldn't care less. She was holding Maura's hand tightly and the rest didn't matter in the end. "Maura's parents weren't supposed to stop by and... And they just guessed. Of course you'd have been the first one to know."

Angela nodded. She wasn't here to throw a fit. It wasn't her intention.

"Then I hope I'll be the first one to know when the two of you get engaged. You have my blessing, Maura: propose to my daughter whenever you feel like doing it. Though you definitely deserve better..."

What?! Jane gasped. She had just announced to her mother that she was dating a woman and the only thing her mother managed to say back was that she, Jane, wasn't worth it?

Rude.

"Oh please, don't start with the wedding thing. No..." Jane made a face. "Not now. Not... Never, actually."

It was getting embarrassing.

They hadn't even been dating for a week that Angela already pushed them towards a potential wedding. Maura bit her lips to hold back a moan of despair: she now had to make sure that her father would keep her distance with Angela. If the two of them happened to be in the same room, Maura was certain that they would plot for an immediate union of some sort.

"Alright... And before I go... Is there anything else I should know?"

Martin walked past the villa and waved at Jane and Maura. Entirely naked. Jane looked at him for a couple of seconds before focusing back on her tablet.

"Ahem..."

Was it really necessary to let her mother know about the rules of _Hidden Beach_? It was a lot within a day, to be honest. Too much, actually. Besides, there were news and news: nobody in their right mind announced that they were in a same-sex relationship and at a nudist resort at the same time.

Nope.

Nobody.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Six**

It was just a salad but it seemed to be the best salad Maura had ever had. It tasted of freedom and hope; of sun and smiles. Of love, if she dared to say it. Everything was starting to make sense in the sweetest way ever. She and Jane didn't have to hide anymore, they could openly live their story without fearing the worst. Or least it was how she saw it.

"Are you feeling less stressed, now? Are you feeling better?"

Jane shrugged while chewing on her sweet potatoes. She hadn't forgotten what Maura had told her before them to call her mother on Skype but she could hardly say that she felt any difference now. Perhaps because whatever she was living with Maura had never really been an issue in itself. She had accepted it right away; she simply couldn't put a proper word on it. She didn't manage to name it. Not yet.

A man stopped at her level and turned his back at her. She rolled her eyes, slightly exasperated to be at eye-level with the vacationer's buttocks, and focused on her plate instead. Her reaction made Maura laugh.

"Aren't you used to it by now?"

Jane scoffed. She straightened up on her seat and looked at Maura through her sunglasses. How did her partner want her to be okay with it? It was everywhere around her to the point she wondered if fate wasn't playing a trick on her.

She raised her arm in a rather dramatic gesture and was about to reply to Maura rather sarcastically when her hand hit something hot in her back. It didn't take Jane very long to realize what was happening but just in case she would have had some doubts, Maura's shocked expression was enough to let her understand that something was happening.

"Wow... Easy, Jane. I'm not sure your lady's gonna like it!" Martha, a woman from Ohio, burst out laughing. "Have a nice afternoon, girls!"

Maura politely nodded at her as Jane remained perfectly still, though 'mortified' would be a lot closer to reality.

"It's been a week, now. You should..."

Jane's snort interrupted Maura's terrible attempt at lightening up the atmosphere. Bad timing. Jane's fork landed loudly in her plate as she let go of it and started dying of shame on her seat.

Dying on a beach by the Carribean Sea: at least it was quite glamorous.

"I've just gropped someone's boob by accident, Maura. How do you want me to feel okay? As I told you: it's everywhere around, all the time." Jane hissed between clenched teeth. "I'm gonna need vacations to rest from these vacations."

As much as Maura wanted nothing but to be compassionate, she couldn't help bursting out laughing. Much to Jane's despair.

"I can assure you that Martha looked rather pleased." Though Jane hadn't gropped but slapped the woman's boob if Maura wanted to be more precise. Wisdom told her to remain quiet over the nuance. "You know what? I think you should try it."

Maura's remark was bold but since they were on the beach, she knew that she didn't risk anything big. Jane would not throw a fit in public. She was too prude for that.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jane grabbed Maura's cocktail and set it down as far as she could from her partner. "You need to slow down on Tequila."

Classic move. It didn't intimidate Maura the slightest bit. She leaned over and grabbed her glass back before taking a long sip of her cocktail. Just to annoy Jane.

"I mean it. Perhaps if you dropped your sarong or your bikini when you're wearing it, you'd realize that it's actually no big deal."

Which was true, after all. Everyone was naked at _Hidden Beach_ and the days were passing by rather peacefully. As far as Maura knew, nobody had complained about anything regarding the policies. It was a very respectable nudist resort.

A five-star one, besides.

"And what are you talkin' 'bout?" Jane shrugged and picked an olive from Maura's plate. "You're wearing clothes too. Isn't it a bit ironic?"

Touché.

Maura looked down at her attire: she was indeed wearing a bikini, as well as a sarong that she had tied around her waist. She hadn't really thought about it when they had left the villa after the Skype call to Angela. It was pretty much the kind of clothes that she always wore during the day. Only at night did she put on something a bit more relevant like a dress or thin linen pants.

"But I can go naked any time. This isn't an issue for me. Absolutely not."

Jane squinted her eyes at her partner. Was it a challenge in disguise? It surely sounded like one. Feeling a surge of self-confidence rose within herself, Jane smirked and resumed her lunch. She had to play it smartly: she loved what was about to happen but she had to play it smartly.

"Yeah sure. Besides, who told you that I'd let you do that?"

Maura scoffed. The tension was now palpable; a very harmless one but the air was full of electricity. It was the problem with the two of them: they had a very competitive spirit, they simply didn't show it the same way.

"Who told you that you were supposed to have a word on what I am or am not wearing?"

Good point, but it didn't stop Jane nonetheless. She was really enjoying their little game. It spiced up things a little which was just perfect for this late-hour lunch. It was almost 4pm, after all.

Angela's Skype call had been liberating enough for them to suddenly feel hungry: a little snack on the beach had seemed to be the perfect idea.

"Still... You won't do it. You've never done it before, it's not your stuff."

"This isn't true." Maura moved on her seat. She was growing slightly uncomfortable. "I've... Done it before."

Jane froze for a couple of seconds. She looked at Maura then shook her head to accompany the moan of disapproval that had passed her lips. It must have been rush hour at the beach bar because many people were coming and going, brushing Jane every five seconds. It went her nerves: where was she supposed to look right now?

"Oh, c'mon. Don't lie, Maura. You're gonna get hives and all. It's not gonna be pretty. You've never gone naked in public and that's fine. At least it makes two people, here."

"I tell you I've done it before." Fine: it was one thing to make her opinion clear but maybe Maura didn't have to literally yell either. She cleared her voice and took a deep breath to calm down a bit. "It was just not considered as... Nudism. But it doesn't change anything to the fact that you won't tell me what to do here: if I want to be naked then I'll be... Naked!"

Maura's speech confused Jane. As much as every point she had made was clear, the circumstances over her absence of clothes in public at some point in her life didn't make sense. What had it happened? And why? If it wasn't nudism then what was it?

Any reasonable person would have started with these questions but Jane Rizzoli being the Queen of Stubbornness she was, she focused on the second part of Maura's speech instead.

"No, you're not gonna do it. Believe me..." Jane laughed, sarcastically. "You're not gonna do it because I'm not gonna let this happen. Nah." She paused but immediately talked anew as she noticed that her partner wanted to add something. "Whatever..."

This time, Maura gasped loudly. She looked offended; very offended.

"Don't whatever me!" She pursed her lips and took her sunglasses off to make sure that Jane would see her angry eyes even more. "Nobody will ever tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Jane raised both her hands to apologize. Sadly, she was only being ironic: she didn't believe Maura at all. Her instinct kept on telling her that it wasn't true.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Jane smirked: she had definitely won the game and she knew it. "Do it. Go, take your clothes off. You have an hour and a half left. Enjoy."

"Oh you bet I'm going to enjoy it!"

Maura furiously stood up and took her top off. To be completely honest, her moves were now in the hands of a cold anger and nothing else. She didn't particularly want to be naked but she didn't want Jane to think that she had her word on what she, Maura, decided to do either. She was an independent woman and nobody would ever change that.

She threw her sarong in her tote bag and, without thinking twice about it, took her bikini bottom off too in front of a shocked Jane. She grabbed her sunglasses and snorted anew.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go for a swim." Maura turned on her heels and started walking towards the sea. She stopped after four steps only then rushed back to the table where Jane hadn't moved an inch. "I just... I just need to apply sunscreen first."

Jane blinked.

What had just happened? In shock, she watched how Maura left again, entirely naked, with her totebag and her sunscreen in her hand. She stopped a bit further down the beach, by the sea, and settled her beach towel there. Some vacationers waved at her, another one even stopped next to her and started a casual chat with her.

Jane swallowed hard.

When had she lost the fight, exactly? When? Because she had certainly not seen it come. Never ever. And why was this girl so chatty with Maura? With a naked Maura?

"The nerves..." Jane grabbed her cocktail and took a long sip of it, not missing a bit of the interaction Maura was having with the vacationer. "The nerves..."

She would pay for it. Jane didn't know how yet but Maura would pay for it. It was very strange to see her go around naked like that. She didn't seem intimidated at all by the fact she wasn't wearing anything.

Jane knew that Maura had always been rather comfortable with her own body but she hadn't assumed that she would dare to take everything off at 4pm on a beach. In front of everyone. It required guts.

A lot of guts.

Maybe one day Jane would dare too. Maybe. She looked down at her hands and stared absentmindedly at her matching scars. Unlike Maura, her body wasn't perfect. Jane had scars and was too bony for her own taste.

Maura didn't have to deal with that. The wounds she had sustained in the past had beautiful faded away and she looked flawless now.

As much as Jane knew that her mother had only tried to tease her on the moment, she was beginning to think that perhaps the matriarch had been right: Maura deserved better.

Maura deserved better than a bony woman of forty years old who still didn't assume her reflection in a mirror.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, messages and suggestions; I should reply to the private messages tomorrow.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Stupid.

Maura felt incredibly stupid. She didn't have any other word to describe the current situation: if she was now lying on her stomach, in more or less excruciating pain whenever she moved an inch, it was nobody's fault but hers. She was paying for the childish behavior she had showed earlier in the afternoon and nothing else.

Karma. It was karma. A good old and ironical karma.

"Apparently, it should ease the pain." Jane checked the jar she was holding then timidly smiled at Maura. "Are you sure you want me to do it?"

The reluctance in her partner's voice dragged Maura down a bit. She understood Jane's reaction but Jane was the only one who was intimate enough with her to apply the ointment to her sunburnt buttocks. The situation was enough humiliating like that to not pretend she was an acrobat.

"Yeah... I can't do it myself. It's..." Maura tried to turn around but immediately winced in pain. "It's too complicated. I can't reach... I can't reach anything."

Alright. Jane nodded and looked at Maura's back. Of course she would mock her partner at some point but not as long as Maura would be in pain. Though this was what happened when one suddenly decided to give it a try to nudism in Mexico.

Sunscreen hadn't been effective enough.

"... 'kay... I'll try to go slow." It was a delicate operation. "If I ever hurt you then let me know one way or another." Jane laughed. "Though I prefer a moan to a slap, obviously!"

A painful smile curled up Maura's lips. Needless to say that the anger she had felt towards Jane during their lunch had completely disappeared by now. Her voice had softened quite a bit and she would never be thankful enough for what her partner was about to do.

"You can be sweet when you want to, so I'm sure you'll do it with... With tact." Maura honestly believed what she had just said: Jane could show a lot of grace and delicacy when she wanted to. "I deserve the pain, anyway."

Jane certainly didn't contradict her partner. She would have lied if she had said that she hadn't experienced a moment of glory when Maura had come back to the villa in such a state. But seeing her partner in pain had calmed down Jane's euphoria immediately and she now felt very sorry.

"Maybe next time you should try a Scottish nudist resort. That'd be safer."

Maura clenched her teeth as Jane's fingertips started brushing her burning buttocks. As much as Jane was applying the ointment carefully, it still hurt rather badly. It took Maura long seconds to breathe anew and nod in approval.

"I wish I had your olive skin. Look at you... You're perfect."

Had the sun also damaged Maura's brain? Jane frowned. She couldn't disagree more with what Maura had just said. Her skin was made for the Mexican weather but she didn't find it to be particularly appealing. She didn't even talk about her hair: the sea breeze had a rather terrible effect on her dark curls.

She now had to wear her hair in a bun almost constantly.

"Don't be silly, Hot Dog." The nickname was unexpected but Jane had to admit that it honestly fit the current state of Maura's buttocks. "You have a perfect body. I don't. Your skin is soft, and beautiful... Gosh, even when you peel, I'm sure you'll still manage to look flawless. Me... Well, not really."

A red alert suddenly set off in Maura's head. She desperately tried to look at Jane who had sat on the bed by her side and ignored the sharp pain caused by her move.

"Are you saying this because of your scar?"

Jane had smartly hidden it until now, or at least when she was wearing her sarong tied around her waist. She always made sure that the piece of clothing covered her scar. The subterfuge didn't work much when she was in nothing but her bikini though as the wound was too high on her side so she simply used her arm.

The scar was visible to the eye. It was not only disgraceful but sadly also a great way to pique people's curiosity. She didn't want anyone to ask her what had happened. There were some things that she preferred to forget.

"No... Not just that. I was talking in general terms."

Maura didn't like the way this conversation was going. She knew that Jane had always had an issue to accept her body; for whatever reason. A wave of sadness rushed through Maura's veins before tightening her heart rather violently.

She wouldn't let this happen. She wouldn't let Jane have such misconceptions about herself.

"I would kill to have your body." Maura wrinkled her nose as Jane laughed at her remark. "I mean it. You're fit, and tanned. Your curves are very appealing too... You're very beautiful, Jane. No, wait: scratch that. You're stunning."

Jane rolled her eyes. Not only did she not believe Maura's compliment but it also made her feel quite embarrassed.

She had never really known how to face such remarks concerning her body. At first she had assumed that it would come all by itself, with the self-confidence that would grow through the years, but it had never happened and she had stopped hoping for it.

"You shouldn't lie."

"I am _not_ lying. And if I redden then it's simply because I'm sunburnt." Maura leaned her chin on top of the pillow she had grabbed and blankly stared at the wall in front of her. "You're a very beautiful woman, Jane... I wish you realized it."

Why were they now talking about such a thing? Jane didn't like it. She didn't have any possibility to escape from it, besides: she was stuck in their bedroom, applying ointment to Maura's sunburnt buttocks.

Sadly, the context was not as kinky as what it could have been.

Jane didn't want to talk about her body nor about her evident lack of self-confidence. She didn't want any of this. Not now, never.

"You only say that because you're doing me."

The choice of words surprised Maura. She hadn't expected Jane to be so direct in the nature of their relationship. So blatant. She didn't make any comment regarding it though as her priorities lay somewhere else for the moment.

"No. I have always found you to be extremely attractive... And the past few years have proved me that I wasn't the only one. I'm not trying to seduce you, I'm not trying to be nice to you. I'm just telling you the truth."

Jane's fingers were now wandering absentmindedly on Maura's buttocks. They were hot under her skin; too hot. Maura was obviously in pain but she didn't complain. The strength she showed impressed Jane a lot.

"Can we talk about something else?"

Without any warning, Maura rolled on her side and sat up. She barely felt the pain as her mind was focused on nothing but Jane. She locked her eyes with her partner's then shook her head with a blatant stubbornness.

"No. We won't talk about anything else as long as you're feeling this way towards yourself. No... Don't count on me for that, Jane."

Jane quietly stood up. She walked to Maura's bedside table and set the ointment jar down on it. They had to apply some three times a day. Thankfully, the sunburns were quite superficial. Maura didn't need to go to the hospital. She should be okay within twenty-four hours.

"You break my heart." Maura walked her way to Jane with more or less elegance. Her pain oddly made her look like a crab. "You're beautiful, Jane. You're really..."

The door bell interrupted their conversation. Maura swore under her breath and went to put on a Tunisian tunic. Jane took advantage of it to rush downstairs. She had never been so glad to get some visit.

"Oh. Hi, Marion. What's up?"

Jane had nicely chatted with Marion and her husband in the afternoon while Maura was going wild in the water pretending to be the naked mermaid she was not. At least Marion had had the credits to calm Jane down a bit.

"I come to the news. I've heard Maura was just as cooked as a steak on a barbecue."

Dammit. How come Jane hadn't thought about this comparison already? Her laugh rose in the living-room as she invited Marion to come in. She grabbed a small bottle of rum in the fridge and poured themselves two glasses.

"She's fine... Sadly I'm afraid she'll have to miss the evening movie on the beach. I mean she can't sit right now."

Jane chuckled. The situation was honestly rather funny: unless they brought a mattress to the outdoor movie area then Maura would have a hard time sitting on a deckchair like the rest of the vacationers.

"Ouch." Marion raised her glass then took a sip of her drink. "Please don't tell me she's already sleeping, though..."

"Oh no. I'm here." With a forced smile that didn't fool anyone, Maura slowly walked down the stairs. Needless to say that the casualness she showed looked awfully fake. She was wincing in pain. "How are you, Marion?"

Jane's ex-classmate politely nodded at Maura. She knew better than to make any remark regarding the funny way Maura was walking. At least Maura had tried nudism. It was better than nothing.

"Good, good. So you're going to skip the evening movie on the beach? That's too bad!"

Oh, that. Maura bit her lower lip. She had completely forgotten about it because of the latest event that had literally hit her bottom. They were playing _Casablanca_ : a classic. She couldn't miss it, no matter what. For once Jane accepted to go and watch a black-and-white movie.

"Oh, no! I'll just... Lie on the sand. Or even sit on a deckchair. I'm not doing that bad, you know..."

Jane raised an eyebrow. She was very surprised. Two minutes before, Maura was in agony on their bed and now she was planning an evening out.

"Are you sure?"

Perhaps it was her ego that was talking but Maura couldn't care less: she wouldn't let sunburns humiliate her more. She grabbed the small bottle of rum and took a long sip of the alcohol before sitting down at the table.

If she kept on drinking then she wouldn't feel the pain anymore.

"Of course, I'm sure. I'm fine, really..." Maura forced a laugh. "You don't have to be worried. It's just a little... Hitch."

"You're brave." Marion winked at Maura. "I remember the first time it happened to me. I was in excruciating pain. Now I make sure to get my body ready before I leave on vacation. It's a little trick we, nudist people, use."

Fantastic. Maura preferred to drown her sorrow in rum. She would have really loved to know about this little trick before getting undressed at 4pm on a Mexican beach.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, messages and suggestions. I'm really glad to see that you're enjoying the story so far.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"We'll always have _Hidden Beach_."

Maura smiled and leaned over to plant a kiss on Jane's lips. Her move sounded desperately logical, as if it belonged to an old routine. What a strange sensation since they had barely started their relationship a week earlier.

Not even a week, actually. It was immensely satisfying.

"Good morning..." Maura looked at the table. Jane must have been hungry because she had ordered enough dishes for them to not need to go out for the next three weeks. "I'm glad you liked _Casablanca_. I can't believe it took me Mexico to get you to watch it."

Jane had never wanted to watch it in Boston in spite of Maura's numerous pleas. Yet her sweet reference first thing in the morning proved that she had actually enjoyed the movie. It may have been a detail but it pleased Maura. A lot.

Not eager to admit it openly to Maura, Jane didn't reply and tried to discreetly check her partner's sunburns instead. In vain. Maura had put on a long shirt which made it impossible to see anything.

"How are you doing? I didn't dare to wake you up..."

It was the third time that Jane woke up before Maura. What had happened to the early bird Maura used to be? She suddenly needed ten hours of sleep and a couple of hours of an afternoon nap.

Perhaps she was simply and finally letting go, perhaps it was only the stress caused by her job that disappeared from her body and made her feel immensely tired. Tired but fine.

"You didn't check?" A playful smirk lit up Maura's features. She had slept flat on her stomach, completely naked and on top of the sheet. Jane had had a full view on her body. "I may not believe you..."

A vacationer swam by their terrace and waved at them. A new bingo game was held at 4pm and the whole resort hoped for Jane to take part in it anew. She had gone wild the last time and people had really loved it.

Though it depended on Maura, this time. They weren't just friends anymore and Jane felt the desire to spend some quality time with her lover.

Within five days, they would go back to Boston and she knew that their routine once there wouldn't allow them to enjoy each other's presence in such a sweet way.

As a matter of fact, their imminent return to Massachusetts was the reason why Jane had woken up so early. She felt a bit anxious at the prospect of going back home.

"Not much..."

…

Jane looked down at her board and pouted. When she had signed up for paddleboard lessons, she had assumed that she would actually go in the water. Obviously she had been very naïve because the class had started forty minutes ago and she was still on the beach, two feet away from the water, virtually practicing basic moves.

It was immensely frustrating.

"You don't wanna join?" Marion winked at Maura as she approached the mattress Maura had laid on. "Paddleboard is fun."

Maura didn't need to be convinced. Her skin was just not ready yet to face any kind of quick move like the ones Jane and the rest of the class were now practicing on the beach.

"Maybe tomorrow? Though I'd like to go to the aquagym class too. You've been to it, am I wrong?"

Marion took Maura's question as an invitation to sit down for a little chat. After all, her husband was playing tennis with another man so she had all the time in the world for a casual conversation with someone. Even better if this someone was Maura.

"Oh yes. I love it! I'll admire you until my death if you manage to drag Jane to it, though!" Marion burst out laughing. "I remember she had hated it when we were at the Academy."

Hard to say the remark surprised Maura but it nonetheless piqued her curiosity. She cast a glance at Jane who was focused on whatever the paddleboard instructor was telling her group.

"How was she?" Maura's whisper got rocked by the waves, carried by the timid smile that played on her lips. "How was she by then? We met five years ago only... Five years and a half. She never talks about the Academy."

Was it a betrayal to ask a third party about it? Doubts invaded Maura. It was too late though: she had asked Marion, she couldn't come backwards without sounding awkward. Besides, she didn't want any personal detail. Just a general idea of the person Jane had been as a student.

"Stubborn. Passionate. Ambitious. Determined." Marion suddenly seemed to hesitate. She squinted her eyes and stared at Jane as a mysterious smile embraced her lips. "Vulnerable too. I guess she hasn't changed much... Has she?"

The choice of adjectives were very telling. Maura shook her head and sat up on the mattress.

"No, she hasn't indeed. Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli is a very stubborn detective!" Maura winked at her interlocutor. "She's fearless when on duty... I wish she had the same self-confidence in her personal life though."

Maura's voice lowered. She and Jane hadn't had a chance to talk about Jane's insecurities again. Of course, they had all the time in the world and Maura knew that she wouldn't manage to make Jane feel better within a twenty-minute chat but she honestly felt the urge to insist a bit more on it.

If only because it broke her heart.

"Oh I know what you mean. We weren't best friends but we honestly got along by then and... And I guess I can say that Jane was not the kind of girl who put herself on a pedestal. Though she improved: I didn't think I'd ever see her in a bikini anywhere."

Maura neither.

"Would you like to have lunch with us, today?" Maybe Maura should have asked Jane about it first but the next Kelly Slater was currently sitting on a paddleboard on the sand in her best imitation of Marcel Marceau, the famous mime. "It would be nice..."

It would be a quiet day anyway. Because of her misadventure the day before, Maura hadn't planned anything apart from reading and writing a few postcards. Spending some time with Marion and her husband seemed nice to her.

"Oh, sure. What an honor to share the table of the Bingo Queen of _Hidden Beach_!"

"Someone's talking about me?" Her paddleboard under her arm, Jane smiled at Marion as she walked to Maura's mattress. "I heard the word 'bingo'..."

Maura grabbed her phone to check the time. Wasn't the class supposed to last an hour and half? Since everyone had gone their way, she assumed that she had got it wrong somehow.

"I invited Marion and her husband for lunch. Perhaps we could get room service. What do you think?"

Their villa was big enough to invite people over for a meal, after all.

Jane shrugged, very matter-of-factly. She didn't mind much about Marion's presence anymore. She had made things clear with Maura regarding Charlie and she was glad to see that Marion didn't insist at all on it. Her fears were gone.

"Lunch of champions: I'm totally needed by the swimming-pool bar at 3pm. Though I won't play bingo this time." Jane shook her head. "Nah. I'm gonna host the freaking game. And it's gonna be awesome."

Maura held back a laugh. She wouldn't miss it, this time. She would make sure to be there from the beginning to the end if only to witness Jane in all her ridiculous glory.

"Oh. So I can't play. Imagine if I win... People are going to think that I've cheated."

Jane frowned. It hadn't crossed her mind. As a matter of fact, it surprised her that Maura accepted to have such light conversations. It didn't look like her at all. Jane hadn't had to handle a single lecture for at least four days: it was a lot in Maura Time.

Really a lot.

"Jane?" The paddleboard instructor walked to her. "I need to get your board back. The class is over for today."

"But I haven't gone in the water yet... I wanna do paddleboard!"

The young instructor shook his head in disapproval. Maura and Marion remained quiet and observed the scene with curiosity.

"You're not ready for it yet."

Maura winced. Red alert: this was exactly the kind of things one didn't have to say to Jane. Never ever. It would do nothing but boost her stubbornness.

Jane stomped her feet and tightened her grip on the board like a child feeling that a parental figure was about to take the toy he or she was holding.

"What on Earth? The sea's super calm. This isn't Hawaii! I don't need to practice on the sand for four hours before going in the water!"

As the instructor started walking away, Jane followed him with her paddleboard under the arm. She wasn't done and would do anything to prove him that she was more than ready to sit on a board three feet away from the beach. In the water.

"Life with Jane must be epic!"

Maura rolled her eyes but the grin that made her hazel eyes glimmer comforted Marion in the idea that she fully agreed.

"Oh, you have no idea... I wouldn't trade this girl for anything in the world!"

The confession caused Maura to blush. She and Jane hadn't really talked about all this yet. Everything was so new, so fresh. They knew that it wasn't just a crush, a vacation little thing. But neither of them had been really explicit about their feelings yet.

It would happen, more or less soon.

"You're a cute couple. I mean..." Marion frowned. Had she gone too far? She remembered that Jane had told her that she and Maura weren't a couple so it was a bit strange to pretend the opposite even if it was hard to not tell the difference in the end. "I mean you would... You'd make a cute couple."

Maura blinked. Twice. She took her time to analyze each word Marion had said. She knew that Jane had told her that they were only friends but things had happened since then and the status of their relationship had changed.

"We are together... We've been together for... For a few days."

A timid laugh passed Maura's lips. She hadn't dared to look at Marion as she had confessed the whole thing. She felt intimidated; in a sweet way.

"Oh." Marion widened her eyes in surprise. "This is... This is great! Congratulations. I wish you the best."

The paddleboard instructor's voice interrupted their conversation. Both Marion and Maura turned their heads and squinted their eyes at the sea. Jane was there, on her board.

"Balance, Jane! Your balance..." The instructor shook his head. He obviously had a bad feeling. "You're gonna..."

And splash.

Jane lost her balance in a last nervous move and fell off the board.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Author's note: thank you very much for your enthusiastic reviews, you're awesome.**_

 **Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Marion looked at her husband and burst out laughing, much to Jane and Maura's slight embarrassment.

"Really?" The woman bit her lips in a desperate effort to prevent herself from smiling. It absolutely didn't work. "You really didn't know this resort was a nudist resort? For real?!"

The lunch couldn't be more friendly. Just as planned, Maura had ordered room-service and the four of them were now enjoying a peaceful meal on the terrace by the swimming-pool. It almost sounded like real life, nothing to do with the tricky appearances of a resort nor with the sensation to belong to a micro-city of some sort.

And it felt right, so right.

"I swear we didn't know!" Jane shrieked and started laughing herself. "Neither of us thought about that. We didn't really check the website... We were busy and... Well, one thing leading to another, we just left Boston without checking."

Jane had to admit that, retrospectively, she found the situation to be rather funny even though she was glad to see that Marion and her husband had dressed for lunch. It made her feel immensely better; a lot more comfortable. And yet a bit guilty too. She knew that they had put on clothes just for her.

Maura hadn't said anything yet but Jane could already hear her repeat over and over that she, Jane, owed Marion and her husband a favor and that this favor had to do with getting undressed. The truth was that Jane thought it was fair. But she lacked the guts to do it.

"You must have been... Shocked!"

Maura nodded at Marion's husband. She, herself, had been surprised but the adjective 'shocked' perfectly suited Jane. Something told her that she would never forget the moment Jane had found out about the policies of _Hidden Beach_.

Susie Chang would not forget about it either but for a whole different reason.

"To be honest..." Marion set her glass of water down on the table. "I was quite surprised to see you here, Jane. It makes a lot more sense to know that you hadn't... Planned... All this."

Jane offered her ex-classmate an apologetic smile. Well ,what could she say? Marion was right: she, Jane, would have never chosen to go to a nudist resort in the first place. Yet now, she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world if only because of all these things that had happened between Maura and her.

"Yeah, it's ahem... It's something I've never done." Jane cleared her voice and talked louder. "Maura says she has but I know she's lyin'."

The statement caused Maura to roll her eyes. Here they were again. Except she had learned her lesson this time: she wouldn't take anything off to stay in the Mexican sun all afternoon long just to piss Jane off.

"I am not lying..." Maura looked at their guests and apologetically shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I cannot lie. Even if I wanted to... I physically can't. It doesn't work. I get hives, I can even pass out from it..." She had stopped counting the amount of times she had had to explain such peculiarity. It was now almost as random as breathing. "And Marion knows what I mean when I say that I did something more or less similar in the past."

Jane frowned. She hadn't expected this at all. What had Maura told Marion, whom she barely knew, that she hadn't told Jane within the past five years their friendship had lasted?

"Would you mind being more specific? Because you're losing me here, Maura..."

Maura had never particularly liked being the center of attention yet it was exactly what was now happening. She could feel the three pairs of eyes on her, and the pressure that rose within the invisible tension that she had created while speaking through half-words.

She set her fork down in her plate as slowly as possible before finally looking up at Jane.

"I rode nude in college..." Jane's snort didn't interrupt her. "To protest against budget cuts."

Jane froze. Protesting against budget cuts was definitely very Maura-esque. It was more than plausible, especially since Maura wasn't getting hives right now.

Holy shit.

"Oh." It wasn't a shock but still a huge surprise. Not really knowing what to say, Jane ran her tongue over her lips and forced a laugh. "Oh."

That was a tad too monosyllabic but at some point she should be able to add a couple of sentences. Perhaps they would even make sense.

Perhaps.

"There was no picture of that?" Marion looked at Maura. She didn't mean to sound intrusive but the possibility had just crossed her mind. "Because if there are some, maybe one day a journalist will find them and try to publish them... Like one did with the picture taken on _Isla Mujeres_."

Maura swallowed hard. How come she had never thought about that before? Thankfully she didn't have such a bad communication with the Bostonian media or else she could be sure that she would face one day something like what Marion had just mentioned.

The tabloid leak was a first and, she hoped, the last time that she would have to handle such thing.

"Well... It is possible that the college newspaper covered the... Hmm... The event, indeed." But she had to remain positive: nothing would happen, nothing at all. "A body is a body, anyway." Her pause mainly highlighted her latent fear. "Isn't it?"

…

Maura's organization skills had disappeared somewhere between the villa and the swimming-pool bar. And perhaps the two cocktails she had had since she had sat up on a stool to play bingo had something to do with it.

Perhaps.

"Oh god..." She blinked and shook her head to sweep away the sweet lethargy that seemed to have wrapped her up. It didn't work much: the numbers were still gloriously dancing in front of her eyes. "Where's the 37...?"

There was no strategy whatsoever when one played bingo. Maura knew it. It was beforehand nothing but a game led by probabilities and more or less complex mathematical solutions. So it wasn't her fault if she was losing: it was just fate.

Mean fate.

"Good thing the love of your life is better at bingo than you are!" Martin chuckled and winked at Maura. "And she's an awesome entertainer too. The resort'd hire her for the season!"

The smile that played on Maura's lips didn't really reach her eyes. Nope, not completely. First of all, she didn't suck at bingo since it was a game of probabilities. Second of all, Jane was a homicide detective who was being mistaken for Tina Fey. And she hated bingo. She found it cheap. Cheap and terribly out-of-date.

"Isn't she?"

Maura swallowed hard: always remain polite, no matter what.

She leaned over and squinted her eyes at Martin's bingo cards. He was quite close to the win, to be honest. She nodded at him, appreciatively, then focused back on Jane who seemed very at ease with a microphone in her hand.

"Alright, Rosa... _Cariño_ *... What's the number you need again?" Jane feigned to listen to the woman and went to pick a ball in a big salad bowl. She looked at the number on it then offered a dramatic smile to Rosa. "You're not there yet... 46, ladies and gentlemen!"

Sighs and laugh rose here and there around the bar. Needless to say the place was crowded. Everyone wanted to see Jane host the game. The atmosphere was friendly, and light. Perfect for an afternoon under the sun of Mexico.

"Maura!" Jane smiled at her partner. "What's your lucky number?"

Everyone turned around to look at Maura. She hadn't expected Jane to call her name like that. Not at all. As a matter of fact, she had hoped to relatively pass unnoticed. As her cheeks began to burn, Maura looked down at her bingo cards and stuttered an inaudible reply.

She didn't have a lucky number. She wasn't a superstitious person at all. She believed in science and reasonable facts; not on legends and myths.

And then she saw the number, right at the corner of her eyes. A moan of distress passed her lips: nope, she couldn't do that. Jane would be mortified. How come Maura hadn't seen it before? She was that close to win a line.

"69!" Martin shouted so loud that people in Monterrey probably heard him. "She needs you to pick the 69! You bet she does!"

Everybody mischievously whistled and laughed. Everybody but Jane who, as predicted, froze; a hand in the salad bowl. Talk about tasteless irony. She locked desperate eyes with Maura's and swallowed hard.

"Oh, c'mon... How old are you, guys?" Jane picked a ball and rolled her eyes. "17... Still no bingo anywhere? Looks like nobody's gonna win this helicopter tour!"

Salsa music suddenly rose behind Jane. Juan the bartender had just changed his playlist. She started making a few moves, much to Maura's surprise. Jane hated dancing, especially in front of a crowd. Obviously the Mexican sun had hit her harder than expected.

Not losing a bit of such unusual behavior, Maura grabbed her phone and recorded a short video of Jane dancing with a vacationer. This would come in handy the next time Jane would refuse to eat quinoa. Sometimes blackmail was nothing short of necessary.

"She's a keeper!" Martin burst out laughing after winking at Maura for the thousandth time. "You're a lucky one, Maura." He then turned to Jane and shouted anew. "You should be dancing with your girlfriend, Jane! C'mon! She's waitin' here."

Needless to say that such comment caused Jane to freeze immediately. She turned around and looked at Martin before locking her eyes with Maura's. They had never danced together. Of course, most of vacationers couldn't know since they assumed that she and Maura had been together for a while but the truth was that Jane had never ever danced with her partner.

Even less a salsa.

"Ahem..." Words. Jane had to find words that once assembled to each other would make sense and would bring up the best excuse to not dance a rather suggestive salsa with Maura. She wasn't a good dancer anyway. She would probably walk on Maura's feet and all. Nah, it was a terrible idea. "I only dance with the lady in private, Martin."

Jane realized a tad too late that her ridiculous excuse was full of innuendo. The fact she had winked didn't help either. She swallowed hard and immediately resumed the bingo game. This would be safer, a lot safer.

Or not.

"69..."

Of course.

Maura's shriek caused Jane to jump in surprise. If she had been rather discreet until now, Maura's sudden win had pushed her to let a surge of joy literally explode. Her reaction seemed to take everyone's aback. She hadn't won the biggest prize for she had simply filled a line but still: she would go home with a bottle of Tequila.

Jane smirked: at least she would be able to drown her embarrassment over the accidental 69 in alcohol.

...

 _Cariño: honey_


	30. Chapter 30

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, they're really appreciated. I've been busy lately so I'll try reply to your PMs at some point during the week.**_

 **Chapter Thirty**

"How come the bottle is already half-empty?"

Ah. That.

Angela's question caused Maura to chuckle but then any kind of remark would have made her laugh at this point. She wasn't drunk but tipsy; tipsy and happy. And absolutely not serious.

Jane on the other hand was still sober enough to look at the bottle and frown. She had to answer her mother's question one way or another. She didn't want to lie, she was a responsible adult anyway, but it was still very awkward to tell her that she and Maura had emptied half of the Tequila Maura had won.

Especially as the bingo game had finished three hours earlier only.

"Well, ya know..." Jane rubbed her nose and tried to ignore Maura's constant giggles. "It's kinda hot here so maybe the alcohol's evaporatin' quickly. Dunno."

She was slurring. Jane was slurring. She could say whatever she wanted about being sober but her speech skills had honestly lowered to the point she now talked with a thick and almost incomprehensible Bostonian accent.

It was a big fail.

"Hydratation."

Maura remained serious for two seconds, which turned out to be an exploit in itself, before bursting out laughing. Whom was she kidding? She had drunk down a large part of the bottle and didn't feel remorseful at all. As a matter of fact, she wouldn't turn down another shot right now.

Jane ran a hand through her hair. Maura's blank eyes clearly let her understand that she was on her own this time.

What could she say to her mother? They had drunk, for no special reason whatsoever. It had just felt it right. They had celebrated a thousand things yet none of them could even be described. They were on vacation: if they didn't let go now, when would it happen?

Satisfied of her inner argument, Jane opened her mouth to reply but the sudden appearance of her colleague behind her mother caused her to forget about the Tequila conversation.

"Hey, Frostie!" Jane turned to Maura and pointed to the screen. "Look, it's Frostie... Little Frostie..."

Needless to say that Jane's slurring piqued Frost's curiosity. Amused, he leaned over to come closer to the computer screen and waved at Jane and Maura. He was holding a large file; just another night shift at the BPD.

"I see it's Tequila Party in Mexico... Lucky you. Watch out, Dr. Isles, Jane holds alcohol quite well." Frost suddenly realized that his colleague's mother was sitting next to him. "No offense, Mrs. Rizzoli."

The nod Angela gave me cruelly lacked enthusiasm. She checked her watch before focusing back on her daughter and smirking.

"I have to go, now. I'll let you with Barry... Enjoy your evening, girls... And good luck for tomorrow morning."

Maura took advantage of the shift to walk to the kitchen counter. She grabbed a bowl of chips and started chewing them absentmindedly. She was starving and felt hot; too hot for keeping her top on. Without thinking twice about it, she took it off and let a sigh of relief pass her lips.

Jane didn't notice anything as Maura was somewhere in her back; a few feet away from her. Besides, she was in full talk with her colleague.

"Does that mean you're gonna host the BPD Annual Bingo, now?"

Jane blinked.

Frost's question had taken her aback: not because it lacked logic but because she had never known that the BPD hosted such an event. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to focus better on the conversation and took a deep breath to sweep away the soft vapors of alcohol that had invaded her mind.

"What? When? There's a BPD bingo?"

Frost shrugged very matter-of-factly. He grabbed a sheet of paper on his desk then waved it at the screen.

"Saint Patrick's Day. Damn, Jane... How can you not know about it?" Frost turned on his left and started talking to a couple of people. He then returned to the webcam. "It's like a big stuff. Are you sure you've been workin' for the BPD?"

Korsak and Frankie suddenly appeared on cam. Jane smiled: everyone was there. She couldn't say that she missed the cold days of Boston and the stress of her job but she was still glad to have a moment with everyone right now.

"Hey, guys! Wait, I'm gonna get Maura..."

Frankie shook his head at his sister and cleared his voice. He looked a bit embarrassed. Unless he was actually amused? Jane couldn't really say.

"Nah... Let Maura alone. I mean, she seems to be... Somewhere else right now. That Tequila must be quite strong!"

What on Earth was her brother talking about? Jane turned around. An "o" of surprise passed her lips as her eyes widened. Maura was dancing to whatever music was playing on her MP3 player, wearing nothing but her shorts and bikini top; while holding a salad bowl full of chips. She had closed her eyes and was going wild.

"Maura..." Jane growled. Of course, her partner wouldn't hear her whisper. "MAURA!" This time it worked. Satisfied, Jane threw herself in a not-so-discreet hand code. "Half of the BPD's watching you right now."

Maura walked to the tablet and waved. Why did she clutch so desperately to the salad bowl like that? Jane bit her lips to repress a laugh. Perhaps she should take a couple of pictures, just in case Maura would suddenly state that none of this had actually happened.

"Nights are hot in Mexico and I feel like dancing. Why should I stop?"

Alright. Jane admired Maura because in spite of her slightly intoxicated state, she was still capable of making sentences. Full sentences. It was rather impressive. Jane was less tipsy and nonetheless kept on slurring her words like nobody else.

…

Maura had no idea why they hadn't done it before but she immensely enjoyed their current late-night walk on the beach. The place was empty, at the mercy of a beautiful moonlight. Even the cold sand felt soft under her bare feet.

The sea breeze was invigorating. She needed it after all the shots of Tequila she had had.

For some reason, she didn't want this day to come to an end. She had absolutely loved it. It had been a sweet day; one of these that would remain in her heart for the rest of her life.

She had never felt so light.

"I'm surprised not a single couple comes here at night to..."

Jane winced in mental pain. This was definitely not the kind of conversation she felt like having with Maura right now. Or at any time, actually.

Thank God they hadn't walked in on Martin, Jude or Tanita. She would have been mortified if this had happened. She looked on her right, then on her left. Great: she would now be very suspicious of every sound.

"Oh please. Maura..." Jane shook her head. "No!"

Her reaction made Maura laugh. Alright, perhaps it wasn't the kind of conversation they should have while walking hand in hand by the sea under a pale moonlight. It was not very romantic compared to the setting.

"Do you miss Boston?"

The question might appear as genuine but it actually implied a lot of things that had been twirling in Maura's head for a while. The intimate context they were in was appropriate to ask such thing. It was actually perfect.

Jane didn't complain. She looked down at her feet and seemed to ponder the question, to analyze the best answer she would be able to give her partner.

"Yes and no. I miss the nights out at the pub, at the _Dirty Robber_... And the adrenalin that comes within an investigation." Jane bit her lips. "But there's something sweet here in Mexico. Maybe it's because we're on vacation, I don't know."

"Are you scared of going back home?"

 _Are you?_ Jane's question remained stuck in her mind. She briefly looked at Maura before looking in the opposite direction. She had noticed the way her partner's voice had broken; she had heard the uncertainty that had risen from it.

And most of all, she understood it.

"No, I'm not scared." 'Scared' wasn't the right word. "I just wonder how it's gonna unfold... I can barely understand why... What made us... I don't get any of it."

At least she was being honest. Whenever she looked at her hand that was holding Maura's, Jane was divided: the gesture couldn't feel righter and yet it was the weirdest thing ever. Her best friend had become her lover within a few hours. They hadn't dated, they hadn't flirted. It had suddenly happened.

Without any warning.

"I know what you mean." Maura stopped and turned to observe the sea. The waters looked dark and transparent at the same time. The mix was odd, unique. "I want it to work out. Once there... I want all of this to work out. I really do."

Sadly nobody could say for sure that it would. Nobody knew what the future was made of nor what it had in store for them.

Maura simply knew that she would do her best to keep alive the sweet spirit of whatever she and Jane were having now.

"Bass is gonna hate me."

What? Maura frowned. Why was Jane saying such thing?

"What are you talking about?" A smirk timidly played on her lips. "Are you implying that I'm raising a moody tortoise?"

Jane snorted. Bass, a moody tortoise? It was an euphemism.

"He can't stand me!" Jane cleared her voice. She didn't need to literally shriek ever. "He always turns his 'back' at me when I'm around and he refuses to eat too. Imagine what's gonna happen if I stay at your place more often."

"You're already at my place most of the time, Jane... So I doubt that it's going to change anything." However Jane was right on one point: Bass needed to be prepared for it. "I will talk to him. All I need is to be smooth, and gentle. I'm sure he'll understand."

Maura repressed a laugh. They had left for a quiet walk on the beach and they were now discussing logistics. Reality was catching back on them at light speed.

She looked on her right, then on her left. The beach was still empty; nobody was coming. It was late, after all. Probably around 2am now.

Without telling anything, she took her clothes off and walked in the sea. The water was warm against her ankles, the quiet waves brushing her knees. She turned around and winked at Jane.

"Come over here... If you can't take your clothes off in front of everyone, at least you can do it at night when I'm the only one around."

Jane opened her mouth to reply but found herself at a loss for words. She swallowed hard and bit her lower lip.

She hated this kind of challenges.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, messages and suggestions. I'm glad you enjoy this story. (there should be a dozen of chapters left)**_

 **Chapter Thirty-One**

"Jane... Wake up!"

As a matter of fact, Jane had been awoken for a while already but her persistent headache prevented her from opening her eyes in any way. Maura's enthusiasm and vitality let her understand that everyone didn't have the same reaction before tequila: some people were luckier than others obviously.

"Why?" Jane's growl turned out to be a lot more audible than what she had assumed in the first place. "Lemme sleep."

A stubborn pout played on Maura's lips. She crossed her arms against her chest and stared at her partner for long seconds. As much as she had her part of responsibility in the tequila binge drinking, she didn't appreciate much Jane's behavior right now.

She, Maura, had woken up on time for the aquaerobics class and she didn't want to make it there late just because Jane refused to get up.

"Our class starts in fifteen minutes. Hurry up!"

Jane winced as she tried to open her eyes. Why did the sun have to be so bright in Mexico? Why? Gosh. It was really very painful. Unbearable, as a matter of fact. She yawned and grabbed her sunglasses to put them on. Perfect: she could now stare at Maura without any problem.

"I'm afraid I'll skip it. I'm just... Nah." Jane shook her head. She could barely make sentences and her mouth was dry. "I'm thirsty and super tired."

"But you've signed up with me." Maura bit her lips in a vain effort to hold back her whiny tone of voice. She didn't want to be this kind of person; even less with Jane. "I was looking forward to it..."

This part was true and couldn't hurt. Or at least, not really. Honesty had always been the base of their friendship and Maura wanted to make sure that it wouldn't change now that their bond was even stronger.

"Too much tequila ruins tequila... And my stomach."

…

Jane checked her reflection in the mirror for the thousandth time and finally left the villa. She closed the door behind her and started walking towards the main building of the resort. One more time, she had decided to wear nothing but her sarong. Perhaps her midnight swim in the sea with Maura had something to do with her bold attitude.

If only a bit.

Clutched to her totebag as if her life depended on it, she reached the small shops of _Hidden Beach_ in no time. If she wasn't wrong then Maura's aquaerobics class ended in thirty minutes. Hopefully it would be enough for Jane to find a present for her partner. First to apologize for having renounced to the class and then because it had been a week.

What were seven days in a life? Absolutely nothing. Yet for Jane it sounded like an eternity; the sweetest eternity she had ever got to live. Everything had changed since she and Maura had kissed and yet their existences oddly looked the same.

Only sweeter, maybe.

Jane wanted to celebrate it, one way or another. Nothing big, just a symbol that she and Maura would remember for the rest of their lives. Hopefully.

She squinted her eyes through her Aviators as she reached the boutique, looking for an acquaintance. It wasn't that she wasn't in a chatty mood but she wanted to keep all of this secret and she didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else at the resort.

The shop was actually empty. Jane checked her watch: it wasn't surprising since it was barely 9.30am. Most of vacationers were probably having breakfast or were already gone to their daily activities. The shop was usually packed in the afternoon.

Without waiting one more second, Jane walked in the boutique and looked around her. Sadly, most of the items were corporated branded. It wasn't romantic enough, nor even something Maura would ever be eager to keep through the years.

Damn.

Of course, Jane could have gone shopping downtown but she was running out of time. She hadn't told Maura that she would go out and she hadn't left a note at the villa. She couldn't disappear from _Hidden Beach_ like that. Maura would probably freak out and next thing Jane knew, the Mexican police would be looking for her in the area.

"May I help you?"

The salesperson's voice made Jane jump. She hadn't heard anyone approach. She turned around and smiled at the young woman before shrugging. She had no idea what she wanted and she hated shopping. Something told her that she was the exact example of the nightmare-ish customer for any professional.

"Err..." Her incapacity to make sentences would not help her, today. "Hmm I don't know. Maybe?"

Or maybe not.

She had never liked interacting with salespeople. For some reason, it made her feel uncomfortable and she often tended to rush out of the store as soon as she could. A bit desperate, she quickly cast a glance at the small place and walked to the jewel section. It wasn't _Cartier_ material but chances were that Maura would like a bracelet. Or earrings. A ring?

Jane bit her lower lip: a ring might be too symbolical for a week of something neither of them was really able to define.

"I'm looking for... A present. Nothing big, nothing too... Err... Bling-bling, you know? Just a little something."

The young woman didn't seem bothered by Jane's difficulties to express herself. On the contrary. She politely nodded and offered Jane a bright smile before motioning a set of silver bracelets.

"These are Maya jewels. They are handmade by a local group of artists. The symbols that are carved in them represent eternity and hope."

Eternity and hope? Jane had to admit that it quite fit what she was looking for. Hopefully Maura wouldn't read too much in it though. This wasn't an engagement nor anything. It was just a present. A more or less random present.

"Oh really?" Jane grabbed one of the bracelets and tried it on. It looked elegant, refined. Even on her. "I like this."

Ten minutes later, Jane left the boutique with two bracelets. Maura simply didn't need to know that they had cost $10 each. The gesture was important; not the price. Satisfied of her purchase, she walked to the swimming-pool and sat at a table by the car. The aquaerobics class wasn't finished yet.

Perfect timing.

Maura waved at Jane from the water. She looked thrilled among the twenty other vacationers. Jane was surprised. She had honestly not imagined that so many people would attend an aquaerobics class first thing in the morning.

"What kind of drink do you want, Juanita?" Marco the bartender walked to Jane's table and winked at her. "A cocktail? That soon?"

Jane swallowed hard. Her headache had completely disappeared once she had had a long and hot shower but she would remain alcohol free for quite a while nonetheless.

"Gosh no! A fruit juice... Something with plenty of vitamins. Pineapple, something like that?"

A smirk curled up Marco's lips. Obviously he hadn't missed Jane's reluctance to talk about alcohol. Tray in his hands, he shook his head at her; highly amused.

"I told Maura this tequila was strong. Is there any of it left actually?"

Busted.

Jane smiled but nonetheless shook her head. She and Maura had emptied the whole bottle the evening before. Thankfully they had also eaten which had probably quite lessened the impact of their binge drinking but Jane had still come to the sad conclusion that she was now too old for that.

If there was a time when she would have woken up in top form after drinking down a bottle of tequila then this time was officially over.

"You've finally found a way out of bed?" A wet Maura leaned over to plant a loud kiss on Jane's lips. "You've missed a great class!"

Jane remained quiet for long seconds. She had set her totebag down on the ground. Her ankle brushed the edge of the presents she had bought at the shop. She could feel them through the fabric of the bag.

She didn't know yet when she would give the bracelets to Maura. Surely not now, in front of everyone by the swimming-pool though. Jane wanted it to be intimate, and romantic enough. Perhaps she could try to arrange a private dinner on the beach. After all, her status of local celebrity would come in handy if she ever desired to have a little something special.

"I'm starving! Aren't you?" Maura grabbed the menu and enthusiastically started reading it. She hadn't had breakfast yet but the idea of sharing a plate with Jane by the pool now seemed appealing enough. "What do you want?"

Jane shrugged.

"I don't mind much. Choose for me."

Maura was about to add something when Jane's phone rang. She focused back on the menu and let her partner check her text message. Hopefully it wasn't Angela who wanted to lecture them about the amount of alcohol they had drunk the night before. Their consumption had been exceptional. As a matter of fact and as far as Maura could remember, it was the first time that this happened.

Even at the _Dirty Robber_ she and Jane usually remained responsible. But what could Maura say? She had got carried away by her bingo win.

"What on Earth...?"

Jane's inaudible whisper caught Maura's attention. She looked up from the menu and stared at her partner, waiting for an explanation. But Jane remained quiet; quiet and still.

"What's going on?"

Jane snorted. End of her silence. She set her cell phone down on the table and let Maura check by herself before a growl of frustration passed her lips.

"It was only a matter of time, right? Now let's just plot Chang's death."

Maura grabbed the phone and adjusted her Chanel sunglasses on top of her nose to read the text message. It came from Frost.

 _Korsak and I checked the resort website._

 _There's surely not much hidden in Hidden Beach, right?_

 _Hahaha_

Oh. That. Maura set the phone back down on the table as calmly as she could. She had to agree with Jane on the first part of her comment: their colleagues finding out about the policies of the resort had to happen at some point. It was logical.

Just as logical as the teasing text message Frost had sent Jane.

A playful smile made Maura's lips curl up. Bad idea though: this wasn't the kind of attitude Jane would like. Doing her best to remain as serious as possible, Maura grabbed her partner's hand and pressed it tightly. In a gesture of moral support.

"Their jealousy is showing. It is nothing but jealousy, Jane. They would die to be here, at your place."

Jane slowly turned her head. Her lips pursed, she blinked at Maura as if she had lost her mind. This had to be a joke; a very bad one.

"I bet you know that I'll still hear about it in thirty years, Maura. They're gonna have a field with this. And it's all because of Chang. Your employee."


	32. Chapter 32

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Two**

Maura looked up at the sky and frowned. She had travelled multiple times to Mexico but the intensity of the current rainpour was a first. As a matter of fact, she couldn't even explain it.

Like every day, she had checked the weather forecast on the resort website and a beautiful sun had appeared on the screen of her tablet. Even the wind was supposed to be quite low. But as she and Jane had reached the beach after breakfast, immense gray clouds had suddenly invaded the sky and within five minutes the rainpour had begun.

"I've closed the French windows. The wind's too strong, it was literally raining inside." Jane walked down the stairs, a bath towel in her hands. Her hair was soaked wet from the rain. "Is it a tropical storm?"

Maura shrugged. She wasn't a climate specialist. Just like everyone, she had simply rushed back to her apartment the moment it had started raining. The only thing she knew for sure was that this storm had taken everyone aback.

Her hazel eyes focused on the palm trees, on the furious ballet their leaves kept on dancing. It was impressive, almost as much as the dark color of the sky.

"I hope not a single hurricane is coming our way." It was a tad dramatic. Maura cast a glance at Jane, to make sure that her remark hadn't scared her too much. "I suppose that if something serious is approaching then we will be told about it."

Was it any better? Maura was anything but convinced. She crossed her arms against her chest and heavily sighed. It was strange to suddenly be back in a locked environment after a week and a half of basically living outside all the time. She felt trapped in the villa; the sensation was an oppressive one.

Her hair up in the towel, Jane smiled at her partner and was about to reply when the power went out. The unexpected darkness caused her to swallow hard. She wasn't the kind of person who freaked out during a storm but she had never seen such a strong wind before either. She had to admit that it was very impressive.

Too much, perhaps.

"Is that normal?"

What on Earth was this question? A blackout was never normal.

Jane's smile vanished as she approached the French windows and looked at the storm outside. It was very strange to see the resort empty. Not a single person was swimming up the lazy river, nobody was walking around. _Hidden Beach_ looked like a ghost town.

An exotic ghost town.

"Well..." Maura bit her lips. She didn't want to make fun of Jane's question because her partner was obviously not alright but she honestly didn't know what to say back. "A power outage during a storm is relatively common."

Diplomacy. This was something Maura had learned since she had become the chief medical examiner of Massachusetts. Diplomacy was the key. To everything, absolutely everything.

"Would you like to play Scrabble?"

The question must have been stupid because Jane looked at her as if she had lost her mind. What was wrong about Scrabble? Maura walked her way to the large wooden chest by the stairs and opened it to check the different social boardgames there were inside of it.

A rainy day was perfect for Scrabble. Or Monopoly. Or Clue. Wouldn't it be fun to play Clue considering their respective jobs?

Jane quickly made her way to the couch and sat down on it. She grabbed the remote control but remembered that if the power was out then she had no chance to watch television. She held her breath; instinctively.

There was no way she would spend her day playing Scrabble while the Apocalypse was basically happening outside. No way at all.

"I guess I'm gonna read a bit." Poor excuse but she hadn't found anything else to say in order to escape a boring Scrabble game. She grabbed the first book at reach and waved it to Maura. "That sounds great."

"Oh." Under other circumstances, Maura would have tried a playful game on Jane but something told her that her partner was not in the mood for sex. Jane looked very tense right now. Anxious. "Good idea."

Jane nodded but immediately stopped as she realized that she had picked the book about the Maya agriculture. Of all books Maura had brought along, she had had to choose the most boring one. Bad luck. Pretending to read it was still a possibility though; a ridiculous one but she didn't necessarily have to discard it either.

Besides, she needed to start thinking about the moment she would give the bracelets to Maura. The sudden storm had swept away any chance to share a romantic dinner on the beach. As a matter of fact, she didn't even know if they would have dinner at all. Room-service wouldn't be delivered with such weather. It was too dangerous to go outside.

What if a branch fell down and knocked out someone? What if...

A loud noise that came from outside caused Jane to jump. She turned around and squinted her eyes at the dark sky. What was that? Her reaction made Maura laugh lightly. She wasn't particularly impressed by the weather.

Or if she was then she didn't show it.

"Wouldn't you like to share a bath with me instead?" It was a subtle way to suggest Jane to move to a room that seemed safer and further away from the storm. "Your hair is still wet, anyway."

Jane pretended pondering the idea. It was a bit humiliating to feel scared by the weather. She had faced many Bostonian summer storms in her life and none of them had caused her to be as apprehensive as she now was. Yet the truth was that if Maura had suggested her to go hide in the cellar then she would have packed her things and rushed there immediately.

"I'm a bit tired, you know."

It was a lie. Jane absolutely didn't feel tired but she wasn't in the mood for any kinky bath either. She hadn't found any particular way to let Maura know about it but she still wanted to make things clear. She knew her partner; she knew the kind of things Maura would be eager to do once in the bath tub.

"Is this your way of telling me that I have a sex obsession?" Uncertainty showed on Maura's face. It deepened and darkened her features. She would have not said no to a little something but it wasn't necessarily what she had in mind whenever she wanted to share a bath with someone. "Really?!"

Red alert.

Jane swallowed hard. How had this even happened? What had she done? And when? She dropped the book on the couch and walked to Maura. Sometimes it was better to act and not talk.

And this sometimes was now.

…

The candles embraced Jane's olive skin of a delicate shade, a warm one. It was almost hypnotizing. Sitting face-to-face with her partner, Maura couldn't stop looking at Jane's shoulders and how the light seemed to play hide-and-seek with the curves of her bones. It was mesmerizing.

They still could hear the storm raging outside but the bathroom seemed to offer a sanctum of peace nonetheless. The power was still out though. An employee had called them thanks to an emergency line to let them know that everything was fine. Or so. It had made Jane laugh rather ironically.

"It's been a week." Maura ran her tongue over her lips. Her voice had resounded low and had echoed against the walls of the room. "A week spent in your arms."

Unlike Jane, she had no issue whatsoever to put words on her desires. The only thing she had a hard time to face was the nature of her feelings. They were strong, too strong to be mentioned yet. She didn't want to put pressure on her partner. What if Jane got scared? It was something that Maura couldn't afford.

"That's sweet." Jane looked down at the bubbles of their bath and waited for the heat on her cheeks to fade away before she resumed. "A week."

She didn't need the reminder, she perfectly knew that everything had started seven days ago but the fact Maura now alluded to it made Jane feel warm. There was something comforting about it. It meant that Maura was on the same line. They were heading in the same direction; together.

It was a positive sign, wasn't it? Of course, it was.

"I wish we'd celebrate it differently, you know." Jane shrugged, a bit desillusioned. Her dark eyes looked for Maura's hazel ones. "It's such a cool place and we're locked inside instead. In the dark."

The candles brought up a romantic touch to the scene but Jane honestly didn't feel very reassured by the storm. She tried to tell herself not to panic but it didn't work much. She didn't feel safe. She didn't feel safe at all.

"I like it, actually. It's quiet and there's nobody else around." Maura approached Jane and smiled at her; brightly. "I like it a lot. It couldn't be more perfect."

Jane pouted: she was anything but convinced. Sure not a single nudist vacationer was ruining the background of what had to be a romantic and intimate moment but they didn't even know if they would be able to have dinner. Outside of a couple of apples they hadn't eaten yet and that still were downstairs.

It really sucked.

"You're very easy to satisfied." Jane frowned to her own comment as she found it a tad too ambiguous. "I mean... You're always happy. I don't know how you do that."

It was true. Maura was a very positive person. She always tried to take the best out of each opportunity when Jane tended to do the exact opposite. Her partner's temper was a source of fascination for Jane yet when Maura happened to be sad, it only multiplied the pain within Jane's heart.

Because it was so rare, because if it happened then it meant that Maura had reached her limits. It meant her suffering was intense.

"Life is too short to only see the dark side of things. Don't you think so?" Maura plunged a finger in the water and started drawing patterns in the soap. "Seize the day."

Jane rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she disagreed with Maura but the always-happy life philosophy had never worked on her. And it was a tad frustrating.

"If you say so..." Jane's mumble went on her own nerves. She folded her legs up, wrapped her arms around them and leaned her chin on top her knees. "It's not how I'd seen things. It's not how I wanted to sorta celebrate it." She sighed. "I wanted sun, and a blue sky. And a gorgeous sunset. I wanted the sound of the waves crashin' on the beach." The pause she marked highlighted her sincere disappointment. "Nobody wants a storm and thick dark clouds by then... Nobody wants rain to spend quality time with the person they love."

 _Love._

The word passed her lips before she had a chance to realize what was happening. It hit the air with a bare innocence; an untouchable logic. Jane froze. She held her breath.


	33. Chapter 33

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews. They're really much appreciated.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Three**

Maura looked down at the tray and bit her lower lip, at the mercy of doubts. Too many things had happened within the last couple of minutes. First Jane had accidentally told her that she loved her and then, as if fate had decided to play a trick on them, someone had rung the doorbell forcing them to put an abrupt end to their bath.

An abrupt end to their conversation as well.

Maura had left the bathroom mumbling vague apologies to Jane before rushing downstairs. Whoever was waiting outside couldn't wait for too long, not with this weather. The archways honestly didn't protect anyone from the rain because of the strong wind that was now blowing. Maura had been right, besides: an employee was bringing them dinner.

"Who is it?" Jane tightened a protective grip on her bathrobe and walked downstairs to join a now silent Maura. "What was it?"

Maura looked up at her partner: bad timing, very bad timing. It was delicate and embarrassing to face another kind of reality after what Jane had just told her. With a shaking hand, Maura pointed to the tray and cleared her voice. She felt very uncomfortable.

"Ramón brought us dinner." To be completely honest, there was enough food to not go out for the next three weeks or so. "They dispatched several employees to bring everyone some food. There isn't any hurricane alert though."

Jane walked to the tray on her tiptoes and started checking what kind of dishes they had got. Since they hadn't ordered anything special then dinner would be a complete surprise.

Maura was about to add something when the light came back. It made her wince. At least they now had something to eat and electricity: it was better than nothing.

Her hazel eyes stopped on an isotherm bag. Had they really thought about bringing them a bottle of wine as well? Maura grabbed it and opened it. Her curiosity was piqued.

She got a bottle of Champagne out of it.

The service at _Hidden Beach_ was really perfect. Maura had to admit it. Though after the bomb Jane had dropped in the bath, the bottle of Champagne was a bit embarrassing. How was Maura supposed to resume the conversation they were having before the employee to interrupt them? It was way too delicate. Yet if she didn't allude to it either then chances were that Jane would take it badly.

"That's... Cool."

Jane's whisper got immediately swallowed by a singular silence. Something was off and it was only logical. She was still taken aback by what she had said to Maura and the interruption didn't help at all. The weather even less. Jane turned around and looked by the French windows: it was still pouring outside. She couldn't rush away from Maura and her words, pretending to have an activity waiting for her somewhere. She had to stay at the villa and face whatever she had started.

"They also brought us tea... I'm going to brew some. Would you like a cup of tea?" Maura grabbed a tea kettle and proceeded to pour water in it. It was coward but she felt better with her back turned at Jane right now. She needed time. She needed to analyze the whole thing. "It's black tea."

Jane walked back to the stairs and silently nodded.

"I'm gonna put on some clothes. I'll be right back." She cleared her voice. "I'll just..." Empty the bath tub? Obviously it was better to not mention the bath again. "I'll be right back."

Maura nodded but didn't say a word. She carefully listened to Jane's steps and only allowed herself to breathe again when the cracking of the stairs stopped. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips.

She should have said something. She should have replied to Jane right away. It was too late, now. It would sound stupid and completely out of context.

With the bitterness that only people who know they have missed an opportunity, Maura swallowed back a wave of tears and focused on the two tea cups.

She was lame; lame and awfully ridiculous. Jane had opened her heart to her and she had remained quiet in return. It was terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

…

They had both taken their time to put on clothes and find themselves together again in the living-room area, trying desperately to avoid all the things they needed to face nonetheless. Drinking in silence, they now avoided each other's eyes and pretended to be interested in whatever cheap movie was playing on a local network.

In Spanish.

Maura felt pitiful. Every second reminded her with a burning intensity how Jane must have been suffering from her silence. How was she supposed to say it though? How did she have to bring it up again?

She couldn't throw it like that, in the middle of a so-called conversation. At least Jane's declaration had been beautiful, unplanned but beautiful.

"Would you like some more tea?"

Jane shook her head and forced a smile. She had humiliated herself earlier in the bathroom. Obviously Maura didn't share the same feelings or else she would have reacted differently. Now she simply and politely tried to avoid the conversation.

Damn it.

"Nah, I'm fine." Jane swallowed hard. "Thank you."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath: what would she do with the bracelets? She couldn't offer them to her partner. It would embarrass Maura even more. As usual, Jane had rushed into things and she now deeply regretted it.

Maura stood up and walked back to the kitchen area. She wasn't particularly thirsty but drinking tea was still a good excuse to virtually run away from everything.

Or so.

"I love you." Her voice was shaking but she was nonetheless being honest. Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was turning her back at Jane. "I love you too."

Why was Jane not replying? Maura's heart suddenly sped up its pace. It oddly matched the storm that was taking place outside. Obviously they could draw a line under going to the beach today: this wouldn't happen.

"You don't have to say that just 'cause I said it, you know."

It hit Maura like a ton of bricks; so hard actually that she almost lost her balance and began to feel nauseous. A cold anger rose within her lower stomach. She turned on her heels and vehemently shook her head at her partner.

"It isn't forced, Jane! I mean it." She swallowed hard again. It wasn't easy at all but she wouldn't give up now. Too many things depended on all of this. "I love you... I love you."

Jane nodded but remained focused on the television screen. She didn't try to look at Maura. Her face was impassive. It was strange.

"Am I rushing into things?" It took Jane long seconds to articulate the question. "You know that I'm not a relationship specialist but err... Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

Why? Maura frowned. She set the tea kettle down on the counter top and walked to her partner. She sat on the coffee table and cupped Jane's chin to force her to look into her eyes. They had to talk; they had to make things clear.

And now.

"You should always be honest, you should never hide your feelings." A timid smile lit up Maura's features. She bit her lower lip. "Especially if these feelings can make a third party happy."

Jane seemed to sincerely ponder the remark. Maura tended to be wise and what she had just said made sense but she still had some doubts herself. For whatever reason.

It wasn't Maura's fault if they had been interrupted; it wasn't Maura's fault if she, Jane, had suddenly said to her that she loved her. She had precipitated everything. She was the only one to blame.

"I don't understand what's going on." Jane sighed. She was tired of trying to play around in circles. "I just... It usually takes me months to tell... _This_... To someone. Sometimes I actually never say it! Yet with you..." She shrugged, disarmed. "Everything goes so fast."

"Are you scared?"

Maura held her breath. She didn't like the way their conversation was going. She had lived it too many times in the past to not know that the ending to such conversation was never good. She didn't want to slow down. Not with Jane. She didn't want to have a break. Not now, never. She wanted to live the fullest with her partner.

"No... I just don't get why it's going so fast. Yet it's feeling so right!" Jane ran her tongue over her lips and stood up. "Wait. There's something I wanna give you."

Surprised, Maura watched how Jane walked to the lobby of the villa and grabbed her totebag. She had dropped it in a corner just after rushing back from the beach. It was still soaked wet.

She grabbed a small box out of it and walked back to the couch.

"There. It's for you. I'm sorry I wanted to give it to you under other circumstances but err... Well, I hadn't planned the storm and all." Jane sat down and held the box to Maura. "It's just a little nothing. Just... A little treat."

What was going on?

Maura accepted the present with shaking hands. She hadn't expected this at all. Nothing had let her imagine that Jane felt the desire to offer her something. Something...

For their one-week anniversary of some sort?

"I didn't get you anything." Mortified, Maura looked up at her partner and tilted her head. She felt so embarrassed. "I..."

At least her reaction made Jane laugh.

"Just because I get you something doesn't mean you have to get me something back, you know. It's okay... Besides, it's not like we had talked about it and all..."

Alright. Maura unwrapped the present and opened the box. Both bracelets immediately caught the light and started glimmering in the palm of her hand. She blinked; not knowing what to say.

It was the sweetest gesture one had ever had towards her. The sweetest present Jane had offered her. The most symbolical too.

"It's err..." Jane ran a hand through her hair. She was nervous. "It's Maya. See the drawings there? They mean 'hope' and 'eternity'. Do you like them?"

No, Maura didn't like them. She loved them. She absolutely loved both bracelets. She immediately put them on and let her smile melt against Jane's lips in a long and shivering kiss. Tears made her vision blurry.

"I love you."

There was no rush, this time. No urge to say anything back. It sounded bare and honest. Fair. Desired. Maura's soft voice had hit the air with a delicate sensitivity before passing underneath Jane's skin to go embrace her heart lovingly.

"They're beautiful, Jane." Touched, Maura looked at the bracelets and held back her sobs. "I love them... I love you." She planted another kiss on her partner's lips before taking her in her arms for a warm hug. "I love you."


	34. Chapter 34

_**Author's note: Thank you vry much for all the reviews and messages, I won't have time to reply to the messages this weekend so I will hopefully do iton Monday.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Four**

 _This not-to-be-missed boat tour follows the Sian Ka'an canal, built by the native Mayas more than 1,000 years ago. During the course of the tour, you'll discover the exquisite turquoise Chunyaxche lagoon, as well as the ancient Xlahpak temple – an incredible mayan ruin known locally as "The Watch of the Lake". As relaxing as it is fascinating, this intriguing boat tour will leave you memories that last a lifetime. When getting to Muyil you will hike inside the jungle to reach the impressive ruin of Muyil where you can climb the 17 m high "El Castillo" and enjoy the breathtaking views. Learn about trees, plants and the history of this ancient ruin. This intriguing boat and jungle tour will leave you with memories that last a lifetime._

Jane had read the leaflet a dozen of times already which had only managed to increase her excitement. She and Maura had flown over Sian Ka'an during their helicopter tour and she had loved what she had seen: the transparent waters of the lagoons, the ribbon of green of the jungle. She enjoyed staying at a resort but a part of her was honestly eager to see a bit more than just a bar on a beach. The history of Mexico was rich and the landscapes were breathtaking. She wanted to see all this, she wanted to be able to tell her relatives, friends and colleagues that she had been there, that she had witnessed something exceptional that couldn't be found anywhere else. All this happened thanks to Maura though. Six years ago, Jane would have been fine with just staying at the hotel. Now she wanted to see all these things her friend and now partner kept on telling her about.

"Do you think there're snakes?" Jane's dark eyes landed on Maura who didn't seem to understand the question much. "In the jungle. Do you think there're snakes? And spiders?"

It was the jungle, after all. If Jane could easily picture out the fish in the lagoons, she also had no issue assuming that their hike through the jungle might be a tad less friendly. She was okay with it: she just wanted to know if she had to be careful once there.

Maura shrugged and held back a yawn. She was tired and the bus ride to Sian Ka'an made her feel sleepy. What could she say to her partner? The last time she had gone hiking in Mexico, she had indeed come across a few snakes. It wasn't Disneyland, after all. It was nature in its purest form. As wild as it could be.

"Probably... But since it's a tour, I'm sure it's actually very safe."

Safe. Jane tilted her head and squinted her eyes in disapproval but she didn't say anything back. Maura had insisted on them not telling Angela about the jungle part so it was probably not as 'safe' as she now affirmed it to be.

A dozen of vacationers from _Hidden Beach_ began to sing along in the bus. Needless to say that the tour was packed and they wouldn't spend the day alone at all. The resort had scheduled different kinds of tours though so Maura and Jane hoped that the one they had chosen would not attract a Times-Square-midnight crowd. The lagoons were said to be very romantic, it would be too bad to visit them with ten other people.

Maura leaned her head against Jane's shoulder and looked by the window of the bus. The storm was gone and the sun was back. The perfect blue of the sky seemed unreachable again and everything was calm. The weather matched her current state of mind: Maura had never felt so much at peace in her life. The conversation she had had with Jane the day before had been immensely relieving. It had passed underneath her skin to then spread a well-needed surge of warmth through her veins.

She was in love and was loved in return. Everything was new and pure, delicate; graceful. Her hopes were high and echoed the smile that played on her lips and made her eyes glimmer in delight. She brought her right hand to her left wrist. She hadn't taken the bracelets off yet. She wanted to keep them on as long as possible. They now embraced her skin with the logic of life.

Like her relationship with Jane.

"Do you want to go on top of "El Castillo"? I'm sure the view is exceptional from there. It's said to be a must see."

Jane enthusiastically nodded. Of course, she was eager to do it. She was a sporty person, after all. She hadn't really showed it since they had made it to Mexico but she was actually glad to have such activities waiting for her now.

She simply hoped that the temperatures wouldn't be too high.

"I accepted to wake up at 7am so yeah, I definitely want to do all the things they talk about in this leaflet. It includes ruins, hiking and lagoons." She waved the aforesaid leaflet. She had opened it so many times that it was all worn out. "Everything."

There was something childish in Jane's behavior, something childish and cute. It made Maura smile. She sat up and smiled at Jane before capturing her lips in a stolen kiss. The first real one they shared in public.

It only crossed Maura's mind once she settled back on her seat. Nobody in the bus had noticed anything though. Her move had passed completely unnoticed. Vacationers were focused on the road and on the song they were singing. It was a joyful cacophony. Under other circumstances Jane would have probably hated it but she hadn't complained yet about it. Maura assumed that it was because of their relationship, because of the lightness that rose from it.

Jane looked peaceful, and ecstatic. For the very first time in a while, she wasn't grumpy nor sarcastic. Of course, it would come back at some point because it was who she was but Maura enjoyed the happy-go-lucky moment for it wouldn't last.

A not sarcastic Jane was not Jane. Something would be missing, after a while. It was nice to see her happy right now but even Maura was hoping for a comment at some point because it was the Jane she loved; the one who had made her life tip over five years earlier.

"Are you going to take part in the table tennis tournament, tomorrow?"

The question was fair yet Maura sensed that it bothered Jane. Eager to keep up her good mood, Jane shrugged and pouted. All in all, she had to admit that she would love it. Her competitive spirit had been put aside since they had arrived in _Hidden Beach_ and she wouldn't necessarily say no to a little tournament. The issue was that her opponents would not be wearing clothes.

What if she returned a lost ball? And how would she even be able to concentrate on the match? She usually played table tennis with people who put on clothes.

"I gotta think about it first..."

She had been too careful in her answer and she knew it. Maura would now take advantage of it to convince her to go naked as well. And it wouldn't happen: Jane was not ready for it. She accepted the policies of the resort but didn't want to be part of the whole thing nonetheless. She had limits.

"Jane..."

And there they went. Maura's tone wasn't patronizing but it still highlighted a strong disappointment. The group of vacationers finished the song. For a couple of seconds, the bus plunged back into a religious silence before Martin started singing again. People didn't need more to follow him.

""I know, I know." Jane turned her head and looked at the road. The asphalt was old and dusty. "I said I'd think about it. I'll honestly do. I'll consider it. Believe me..." She snorted. "It's a lot for me."

Maura rolled her eyes. She knew that it was indeed quite an effort for her partner but she doubted that Jane would end up signing up for it. Because of nudity. She had already renounced to many activities because of it.

It was too bad; a complete waste of opportunities.

"I'm sure that you would win." Maura waited for Jane to look at her to give her a wink. "Let's face it: if your bingo victory was a coincidence, table tennis wouldn't be."

The compliment in disguise caused Jane to lift her chin a little. She enjoyed quite a lot the way things were now turning. She had honestly been scared to face another lecture about nudism and how good such philosophy of life was but Maura had finally decided to boost her ego instead.

Excellent choice from her partner; really.

"What's to win?"

Hopefully not another helicopter tour. As much as Jane had enjoyed it, she didn't feel the urge to handle another fit of jealousy from Maura. She was not about to forget about Daniel and his Top Gun style.

"I'm not too sure..." Maura squinted her eyes in an effort to remember what had been written on the blackboard by the swimming-pool bar. It was where she had learned about the tournament. "I guess they didn't say it. It would be a complete surprise!"

And was that a good thing? Life had been a bit harsh on them lately, Maura had to admit it So she wasn't too sure about signing up for something without knowing what to expect from it. Not anymore. She wasn't paranoid but conscious.

Very conscious.

 _After this unforgettable experience, we take you on an expedition of floating in the crystal clear spring waters of the Mayan Canal, as the current gently carries you down stream. After all, local legend says that these spring-fed waters have magical healing powers! Whether or not this is true, you're guaranteed to feel on top of the world as the current carries you gently downstream – all to the soundtrack of tropical birdsong._

Back to the leaflet.

Jane was really eager to this part of their tour. She had checked the videos and the pictures online and it was the coolest thing she had ever seen in her life. It looked absolutely perfect. A perfect way to finish a day she hoped to be magic.

She cast a brief glance at Maura who was now in full talk with Tanita. She didn't understand any of this but Jane felt immensely lucky. Did she deserve all this? Absolutely not. But she shamelessly embraced it nonetheless.

She had the feeling that the puzzle of her life was finally complete. It made sense in the oddest way ever. Beautifully.

She hoped that their return to Boston would not sweep away any of this. Not being on vacation anymore may drag them down a bit. The context they were currently in was very singular. Extremely different from their daily life.

Would they overcome the sudden change? Would they be able to switch from vacation mode to reality again?

A wave of doubts suddenly invaded her and made her bite her lower lip. She didn't want to feel anxious, not now that everything seemed so perfect. Yet the shadow of Boston was there and she couldn't completely ignore it either.

Being in denial never helped.

If their relationship didn't work out then Jane would regret it for the rest of her life. She was certain of that. Because everything had changed and they would never be able to come backwards again. Of course, they could try and pretend it was the same but they wouldn't fool anyone in the end.

The bus stopped: they had made it to Sian Ka'an.

Jane took a deep breath and swept away her dark thoughts about Boston. She wouldn't let it ruin her day. She retrieved for her belongings, smiled at Maura as her partner looked at her and stood up to walk her way out of the bus.

It was now time to enjoy what Mexico had to offer them.


	35. Chapter 35

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews and messages, I'm really glad you're still enjoying this (long) story!**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Five**

Starting with the canal had been an excellent idea. The boat seats were comfortable and the journey offered the perfect introduction to the biosphere of Sian Ka'an. It hadn't lasted long enough though and very soon Jane had realized that hiking in the jungle was not as easy as going for a walk by the Charles River.

It was hot, and the air was moist. In spite of the impressive vegetation and the ribbon of green that protected them from the sun, she could feel the heat on her nape and walking had turned out to be difficult. Yet it was a moderate level hike; nothing extraordinary.

Would she be able to go on top of "El Castillo" as she had said earlier in the morning to Maura? There was nothing less sure anymore.

Maura. Jane looked at her and winced.

Fresh as a daisy, Maura was peacefully walking next to the group guide as if it were the easiest thing in the world. She didn't look bothered at all by the climate, even less by the sounds Jane didn't manage to identify. It hadn't crossed her mind before but she was now able to say it: the jungle wasn't quiet. The jungle was loud, extremely alive.

And it was intimidating when one knew nothing about such environment.

They had seen beautiful birds, multicolored ones. They had seen insects Jane had never heard about in her life. They still had to come across a snake though, to be completely honest, Jane could do without it. She wasn't scared of snakes but wasn't particularly fond of them either.

"It's beautiful, right?"

Jane smiled back at Tanita. The girl was red and sweaty. Obviously Jane wasn't the only one who slightly suffered from the hike conditions. The guide stopped to remind everyone to put on some biodegradable sunblock and insect repellant. Perfect to catch back her breath.

At least the tour was serious. At first Jane had growled when she and Maura had had to leave their very own sunscreen at the desk but she now understood that it was a matter of respect. The respect of nature.

It was only fair.

Maura took advantage of the break to join Jane. She had walked the first part of the hike next to her partner but Jane had finally insisted on her to go at her own pace. It was okay, they would have all the time in the world to admire the Maya ruins of Muyil together and take part in the floating expedition down the spring waters of the Mayan canal.

"Are you alright? Remember to remain hydrated, it's highly important." Maura took a metal flask out of her backpack and held it out to Jane. "Are you enjoying it?"

Maura's very caring attitude was cute. At some point in her life, Jane would have probably taken advantage of it to gently mock her friend; to tease her. But she didn't feel like doing it anymore. She simply wanted to live all these moments to the fullest because it made her feel happy.

"Are we far from "El Castillo"...?"

It was still one subtle way to ask whether she, Jane, would die somewhere on the path – exhausted – before even reaching the Maya ruins. Luckily Maura didn't make any remark. An imperceptible smirk played on her lips but she immediately winked at her partner to lighten up the situation.

"Twenty minutes, no more. I promise you it's worth the hike."

Jane had no doubt about it. She had studied the leaflet enough times to know that what she was about to see was unique. She just had no idea how she would walk back to the floating spot after climbing a 17m high castle of some sort.

"Good." Jane took a long sip of water and vaguely motioned the guide who was showing something on a map to another couple from _Hidden Beach_. "What have you been talkin' about with her?"

Maura squinted her eyes as doubts invaded her. Was it jealousy that had showed within Jane's words? She turned around and looked at Maria, their guide. She was a thirty-eight-year-old anthropologist; her knowledge was fascinating to say the least.

"Oh..." Maura shrugged. "Mostly about the Maya civilization. I thought I knew quite a lot of things about them but Maria has proved me wrong. It really was a fascinating civilization, you know."

Jane remained rather impassive which caused Maura to feel anxious. Had she said something wrong? She didn't want Jane to feel aside. As a matter of fact, she would have remained with her if Jane hadn't told her in the first place to walk at her own pace so she wouldn't get too tired.

Maura cast a glance at the group of four that had stopped next to Jane. She cleared her voice and leaned over to speak as low as possible.

"Are you jealous?"

Jane's snort turned out to be the lamest giveaway ever. Amused, Maura raised an eyebrow and smiled at her partner. Of course now Jane would lose herself in a monologue of some sort about the reasons why she wasn't jealous.

While she actually _was_ jealous.

Maura knew it. She could even feel it. What was to say? They had met five years ago. Jane had no secret for her anymore. The mere move or word was enough for Maura to know how her partner felt. And right now, Maura could say that Jane felt annoyed.

"Nah..." Jane's casual tone didn't fool anyone. She looked down at the ground and started balancing her right foot from right to left. "But after the Top Gun outburst, it seems like I could easily get mad at your Indiana Jones obsession." Jane locked her eyes with Maura's and forced a smile. "Thank God I'm not that childish though."

Maura rolled her eyes. Okay, she had gone too far with the whole Daniel thing but she had apologized. Was Jane really eager to throw a fit in the middle of the jungle, besides? That was low; cute but low.

"She's married."

Jane gasped and widened her eyes in utter shock. She pointed an index finger to Maura and shook her head in disbelief.

"See? You weren't talkin' about the Maya!" A growl passed her lips. She proceeded to put her flask back in her backpack to calm down. In vain. "I knew it."

Maura waited for Jane to straighten up again to talk. Thankfully their guide had announced that they were about to resume their walk to make sure to reach "El Castillo" by noon. They would have lunch there and spend a couple of hours admiring the ruins.

"Maria didn't have to tell me about it, Jane. I am simply a good observer." Maura adjusted her backpack on her shoulders. "She has a wedding band on her finger. I don't like guessing but this is quite telling nonetheless, don't you think so?"

Oh.

Jane dared a glance at Maria who had started walking again. Alright, perhaps she – Jane – had jumped to conclusions. This time. That didn't mean the situation she had imagined wouldn't happen in real life at some point.

"Come on, let's go." Maura grabbed her partner by the elbow and began to walk. "I don't need any Indiana Jones in my life. I'm very satisfied of my homicide detective."

The remark made Jane blush slightly. Good thing she was red from the effort, at least her emotional reaction passed completely unnoticed.

"Even if your homicide detective walks at the pace of an African-spurred tortoise when in the Mexican jungle?"

Maura's hoarse laugh rose in the air. It embraced the trunks of the trees and slid along the endless curtain of green leaves. She bit her lips and nodded.

As a matter of fact, she was very proud of Jane right now. Not only did her partner show interest in a foreign country history but she also accepted tough hiking conditions without complaining. Maura wasn't stupid: she knew that Jane did it because of her, because it was what she, Maura, wanted to do in the first place.

The gesture was sweet; implicitly sweet.

After an endless twenty-minute walk, the dark path suddenly succumbed to a bright light. It forced Jane to wince. She was blinded by the sun; unexpectedly. She hadn't realized until now how dark the jungle could be.

And then it appeared, almost from nowhere. In the middle of what looked like a field. "El Castillo" reminded her of these pictures she had seen in books, these pyramidal constructions she would have never imagined to reach one day. Yet there she was now after a long hike through the jungle.

She stopped with the group and dropped her backpack on the grass with relief. Her shoulders felt light anew. She took a deep breath and brightly smiled at Maura. She was so glad to share this moment with her. So glad to have done it.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Maura wasn't blasé, she wasn't this kind of person, but she had already approached Maya ruins in the past. "It was built over 1,000 years ago."

Since it was noon and everyone was starving after the hike, the group decided to have lunch first. The guide would take advantage of the picnic to explain them in further details about the history of "El Castillo" and of Muyil. Then the bravest one would climb on top of the construction to admire the breathtaking view over the jungle.

"We should do more stuff like that." Chewing on her sandwich, sitting on the grass, Jane nodded at Maura. "We never go visit anything."

Maura held back a scream of surprise. Jane's enthusiasm was unexpected but she felt delighted. Though it was probably caused by the euphoria of the moment. Something told her that her partner would complain if she, Maura, suggested her to go on a tour near Boston once they would be back home.

"Really?"

Maura's perplexity caused Tanita and Jamie to laugh. Both girls had settled down next to Jane and Maura for the picnic. The group had actually found a nice spot in the shadows and had sat in circle to make sure to hear Maria's explanations about the archeological site. Two other groups had done the same, a bit further.

"What's surprising about that?!"

Maura tilted her head and focused on her salad. She needed to choose her words carefully, just to make sure that Jane wouldn't take it badly. Obviously there was still a bit of tension because of Maria; while nothing had happened at all between Maura and the guide. They had simply talked about pre-Columbian civilizations which was rather logical given the circumstances.

"So... What you're telling me is that you'd be eager to wake up at 7am on a day off to take part in a historical visit of Massachusetts?"

Jane frowned. Said like that, it was anything but promising. Maura was right. Besides, Jane already knew the history of Massachusetts: she was born there, she had gone on school trips all around the state.

"Oh... Whatever!"

Jamie burst out laughing. She grabbed her flask to take a sip of water and winked at Jane who had had no choice but to accept her defeat.

"Maura knows you so well, right?"

A grin lit up Maura's features. Jamie was right: she knew Jane even better than Jane knew herself. It was a fact, a true one.


	36. Chapter 36

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, it's a pleasure to read and answer them.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Six**

Maura opened the walk-in closet and stood, perfectly still, in front of her two suitcases. She had forgotten till their existence, to be honest. For the past few days, she had managed to completely put aside the fact that she and Jane were in Mexico temporarily only. And it had worked. It had worked so well that it now hurt to see these two Vuitton bags waiting for her in a corner.

She missed her job, and her townhouse. She was looking forward to seeing Bass again and resume her work as a medical examiner but she nonetheless didn't feel like leaving behind this bubble of comfort she and Jane had built in _Hidden Beach_.

Their Mexican stay was only a parenthesis though, she knew it. It wasn't reality; it wasn't her daily life. It was just a sweet little something.

"What are you doing?" Jane dropped her backpack on the bed and slowly walked to Maura as she saw her partner staring blankly at something in front of her. The moment she saw the suitcases, Jane's dark eyes widened in fear. "Oh no... C'mon, get out of here." She grabbed Maura by the elbow to pull her outside the walk-in closet. "It's only Wednesday evening, Maura. We still have two full days left here."

It wasn't the first time Jane went on vacation with Maura obviously and she knew how her partner was. She knew about her tendency to start packing a zillion years in advance for a reason Jane would never understand. It was a waste of time and a waste of vacation for her. Packing was a last-minute torture. It couldn't go in the way of these forty-eight hours left at the resort.

Especially after such amazing day.

The floating experience on the Maya Canal had been fantastic, relaxing and fascinating. Jane was convinced that she would never forget about it. How could she anyway? This activity didn't exist anywhere else in the world, or at least not in such environment. Same for the ruins of Muyil. Sian Ka'an had allowed her to see another side of Mexico that had really caught her attention.

"I won't wait until Saturday morning to pack, Jane. And you know why? Because we leave on Saturday morning: our airport shuttle is scheduled to departure at 10.30am." Maura sighed. She wasn't in the mood to argue with Jane but she still wanted to make her point. "A last-minute packing is one effective way to make sure that you will forget something here. And it's stress inducing."

Maura nonetheless let Jane drag her out of the closet. They had just come back to _Hidden Beach_ after their excursion to Sian Ka'an. It wasn't too late but the day had been intense and Maura felt a bit tired. Tired and hungry.

"I'll go have a shower. Do anything but packing in the meantime."

Jane walked to the bathroom and didn't bother closing the door. What for, anyway? At this point in their relationship, it didn't really make sense anymore. Their shared intimacy was growing little by little; all by itself. With logic.

Everything was logical actually. Absolutely everything.

Maura walked downstairs and picked an apple. She bit into it rather unconvincingly. There she was: she had let the doors to Boston get opened and she couldn't stop thinking about it now. What would she do on Saturday evening? What would she do on Sunday? Laundry? Not necessarily. They were staying at a five-star resort so all her clothes would be fresh and clean when she packed once and for all.

And where would Jane sleep? At her own place or in Beacon Hill?

Annoyance rose within Maura's mind as the whirl of endless questions remained unanswered. She had to do her best to not think about it now. Because it was too early; way too early to plan anything.

She absentmindedly walked to the couch to sit down on it. She grabbed the remote control and turned the television on. A telenovela was playing, in Spanish. Maura tried to focus on it: in vain. She had now irremediably plunged in the near future. If only virtually.

"Damn it."

Perhaps she and Jane should take part in one of the evening activities offered by the resort, just to make sure that she – Maura – wouldn't overthink it all too much. Wednesday nights at _Hidden Beach_ were dedicated to social boardgames. Maura was quite enthusiastic about it but she wasn't too sure for Jane. Her new passion for bingo aside, Jane was really not very fond of social boardgames.

Besides, her terrible competitive spirit always went in the way at some point.

Not really convinced by her inner thoughts nor by the telenovela she was watching, Maura was about to turn the television off when a huge sound caused her to jump. She turned around and squinted her eyes at the lazy river swimming-pool.

It came from the beach.

Her curiosity piqued, she passed the French doors and started walking on this main path she now knew by heart. Perhaps she should have left a message for Jane, just to make sure that her partner wouldn't freak out about her sudden absence. Too late though; Maura had almost reached the beach by now.

Another identical sound rose anew; this time very close to where she was.

She sped up a bit and finally made it to the beach. She stopped right away as she realized what was going on though; too polite to impose herself to an event she hadn't been invited.

A wedding party was in full swing. People were dancing and joyfully celebrating a young couple who was applauding the fireworks by the sea. Maura widened her eyes in surprise: how come she hadn't assimilated the sound to fireworks earlier? She was quite familiar with the sound.

Leaning against the trunk of a tree, far enough to make sure that nobody would see her, she observed the party in silence and fed herself of every single detail from the orange shades of the sunset that slid on the sand to the clicking of the glasses of Champagne that seemed to echo in the distance. The scene was beautiful; and delicate.

Even more than what she had accidentally seen in the photo albums at the reception desk.

"Now you understand why we kept on telling you and Jane to organize this..."

Marion's sudden remark made Maura stifle a scream of surprise. She hadn't heard anyone approach. A hand on her heart, she looked at Jane's ex-classmate and desperately tried to sound casual.

Marion had taken her aback though.

"As much as I appreciate the symbol, I honestly think it's way too early for Jane and I to celebrate any of this." Maura had preferred honesty to any other answer. She liked Marion anyway and she felt like she could trust her. "It's ahem..." She shook her head, not really knowing what to add. "It's not for me. Not just yet."

But one day, maybe.

One day maybe, Maura would feel the desire to do something similar to this wedding on the beach. One day maybe, she and Jane would organize a party for their friends and relatives and they would celebrate their relationship. One day maybe.

"Nice bracelets."

Maura immediately looked down at her left wrist. Her cheeks began to heat slightly as a timid smile seemed to embrace her lips. She nodded and brushed the jewels with her fingertips.

"They are a present from Jane, actually." A surge of pride invisibly rose in her voice. It was ridiculous but Maura had no hold over it. "It's... I like them a lot."

Marion's eyes began to glimmer in delight. She raised an eyebrow and feigned to be extremely surprised by Maura's statement.

"She offers you a jewel after... What? A week?" Marion laughed lightly. She then winked, very amused by the whole thing. "But you think it's too early for a not so official wedding on the beach?"

Alright. Perhaps Marion had guts to advance such things but Maura had to admit that she wasn't entirely wrong. It was nothing but teasing yet Maura couldn't ignore the fast pace of her relationship with Jane. It was there: she could feel it at any moment.

"I don't like rushing into things. I don't want to lose Jane."

The last remark surprised Marion quite a bit. She tilted her head and squinted her eyes at Maura. She seemed worried, and clueless. Fireworks exploded anew in the sky but this time neither of them bothered to look at the multicolored patterns.

"What do you mean? Why would you lose Jane? Has something happened?"

Marion didn't want to sound intrusive, after all she barely knew Maura, but a part of her wanted to make sure that everything was alright. She didn't want to see anyone sad or at the mercy of doubts. They were in a happy place, perhaps it was genuine but she wanted to make sure that everyone was happy as well.

"Oh, no! Everything is okay." Maura forced herself to laugh, if only to lighten up the conversation a bit. Marion had definitely misunderstood what she meant. "It's just that if there's something I've learned from the past then it's that rushing into things never does any good to relationships. And I care about this one. A lot."

So she would make sure to do her best to make it work.

"Good." Marion nodded, somewhat reassured. "Don't take it badly or anything but I've only asked because... Because it's the first time I see Jane so happy. I know it's been years since the Academy but even here... There's been a shift in her attitude. And I'm sure it's thanks to you."

This time Maura blushed but completely assumed it. She didn't try to hide behind a curtain of blond curls. She didn't break eye-contact with Marion and peacefully smiled instead.

It was sweet. What Marion had just said was very sweet.

"She made me a better person too."

The words kept on dancing in Maura's mind long after she went back to the villa, long after she had dinner with Jane.

She hadn't overthought it. The words had slid on her lips with the sweetest logic ever. She had never meant something so much, had never been so sincere than in front of Marion on the beach.

Her whole life had changed the day she had met Jane at the _Division One Cafe_. She had learned about friendship, about this strong sentiment of belonging to a group; to a family. And if glimpses of her past remained and showed up from time to time, Maura still had the feeling that she was now a whole different person.

A better one.

She quietly rolled on her side in bed and looked at Jane. She was peacefully sleeping, so far from imagining what was going in Maura's mind. With all the delicacy in the world, Maura leaned up on her elbow and planted a soft kiss on top of her partner's head.

"Thank you for everything."

Her whisper disappeared in the night, embraced the warmth of a smile.


	37. Chapter 37

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews/muchas gracias a todos!**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Seven**

She could do it. Jane nodded at nobody but herself. Of course, she could do it: she had landed a rather easy draw, or at least from what she had seen so far. The only issue was that, just as planned, most of her opponents were naked. Why had she accepted this? Why had she said yes to Maura? So easily, besides. Why?

Whipped. She was whipped. It was as simple and pathetic as this: she was whipped and had no chance to ever make the situation evolve. She couldn't say no to Maura, no matter what.

Table tennis racquet in hand, she took a deep breath and patiently focused on her next match. She had won the first one really easily; under the applause of her usual crowd of fans. The moment she had accepted to take part in the table tennis tournament, the whole resort had succumbed to a rather funny frenzy: everyone wanted to see Jane play, everyone was convinced that Jane would win.

It was Jane, after all. Thier Bingo Queen.

She had even heard a couple from Florida say that she was probably the Rafael Nadal of table tennis. As much as she appreciated the compliment, she knew that it was far from being the truth.

But whatever. It boosted her ego.

"You haven't drunk yet. Drink some water. Come on, you need to stay hydrated." Sitting next to her, Maura grabbed a bottle of water and held it out to Jane. "Drink! And warm up your wrists. It is paramount."

If Jane had finally accepted to be part of the tournament, Maura had preferred to hire herself as Jane's personal coach. The issue was that her constant 'do this' and 'do that' were now slightly going on Jane's nerves.

It was actually so annoying that playing a match was a lot less stress inducing than sitting on a bench next to her. But Maura's behavior was cute, too cute for Jane to say anything. It was Maura, after all; her nerdy side was showing.

Besides, Maura had woken up in a very good mood. A genuine smile had lit up her features the exact moment she had opened her eyes and leaned over to plant a kiss on Jane's lips. Jane would have gladly taken advantage of the moment to get a bit more than just a kiss but Maura had stated that she, Jane, needed to keep all her energy for the tournament.

Needless to say that Jane had showed up at said tournament rather frustrated.

"You didn't let me warm up my wrists earlier in the morning..."

Jane smirked, almost surprised by her bold innuendo. There was nothing subconscious about it: she meant what she had wanted to say. It made Maura laugh in disbelief.

"Really?"

But since they weren't alone, neither of them really insisted.

Maura bent over discreetly and looked at the trophies. It wasn't that they were ugly but she honestly hoped that the winner and the finalist got more than just cheap _Hidden Beach_ branded statues.

"I didn't have a chance to ask what the first prize was. Have you heard anything about it? People seem to be rather silent, I hate it."

Jane smirked. Maura's competitive spirit had risen even before they had made it to the spot on the beach where the tournament was held. Glimpses appeared here and there as she talked. It cracked Jane up.

She, Jane, wanted to win for the sake of it; because she was a sporty person and that she liked the idea of a friendly competition. Maura wanted to win for the prize, for the mysterious prize neither of them knew anything about.

"Nah. I mean there're the trophies there." Jane shrugged. "And perhaps that's it."

And she would honestly be fine with it. It was okay if there was nothing else to win: no helicopter tour, no free cocktail at the bar. She could do without it. Maura, however, was unable to conceive such a thing.

She loudly snorted and crossed her arms against her chest.

"A vulgar plastic trophy? I hope you're wrong, Jane. You deserve a lot better."

End of the match. Jane waited for the two players to shake hands before approaching. She was playing against Martin, this time. She hadn't had a chance to really check his level but she was certain that it would be a piece of cake. Besides, Martin liked her too much to even plan a victory against her.

She grabbed the ball and was about to start the warming-up when music rose loudly on her right. It made her jump and stare at Marco, the bartender, in disbelief.

Really? So not only did she have to ignore the fact she was playing table tennis with naked people but she also had to focus with a medley of Gloria Estefan playing in the background? She shook her head: Maura was right, all her efforts needed a lot more than a cheap trophy if she ever won.

Maura, however, seemed to rather enjoy the idea and she happily started humming along the song. Completely off-key.

…

"You see what happens when you don't hydrate properly? Ugh! Didn't I tell you to drink water?"

Jane rolled her eyes. She really didn't need Maura to sound like her mother right now. There was something cute in her partner's patronizing tone but she could have easily done without the remarks.

"I can't win all the time, Maura." Jane angrily grabbed her cocktail and took a long sip of it. "Besides, I _am_ hydrated."

She was. She honestly was. She had simply lost to Martin because of Gloria Estefan singing 'Conga' so loudly that she, Jane, had not even been able to hear the ball on the table. Losing in round two was slightly humiliating but she would overcome it. A lot faster than Maura.

"I refuse to believe that it was because of the music. Gloria Estefan's songs are very catchy, actually. It isn't bad at all."

Jane held back a laugh. She had no idea that Maura enjoyed the singer. Outside of Yo-Yo Ma and jazz standards, she had never heard Latino music at Maura's. Jane sank her feet in the warm sand and let a long sigh of satisfaction pass her lips. She was on the beach, enjoying a glorious sunny day. She had lost at a table tennis tournament, indeed, but there were more important things in the world.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't hummed along while standing literally three inches away from me I would still be part of this freakin' tournament."

Jane swallowed hard. What on Earth had she just said? She wanted nothing but to spend a peaceful day with Maura and yet she did it all to push her partner's buttons. That was dangerous, very dangerous.

Against all expectations, Maura didn't growl in return. She remained amazingly quiet instead. Jane slowly turned her head to look at her, to make sure that her partner was fine and not plotting her death.

Nope.

Maura seemed to be surprised but not angry at all. She had squinted her eyes so much that they almost disappeared behind a curtain of eyelashes. What was she pondering, exactly? Jane had been clear, sadly too clear.

"Oh. I see." Maura's blank voice didn't betray any emotion. She was obviously still lost in her thoughts, the ones Jane didn't manage to read. "Then I apologize. Please tell me next time I bother you. I will quiet down."

What?! Jane suspiciously looked all around her. Was there any hidden camera somewhere? Was that a prank of some sort? Maura's reaction was too quiet, too wise to not scare her.

Maybe it was weird to admit it but Jane would have really preferred Maura to scoff and lecture her. Or even yell.

This silence was suspicious and stressing.

"I mean I liked it. It's just... Err..." Alright, that was delicate. Jane needed to think every single word because allowing it to pass her lips. "I had fun. Isn't it the most important, in the end?"

This should really satisfy Maura and it wasn't a lie. Or at least not really. Jane had enjoyed playing table tennis even if her experience had turned out to be a lot shorter than what she had hoped it to be in the first place.

"Bullshit."

Maura's reply caused Jane to choke on her cocktail. The use of such word by Maura was almost as surprising and out of character as her previous silence.

"Maura... It's just a stupid little tournament... At a resort! I didn't lose at the Olympics!"

Jane pouted. She was really amused by Maura's behavior. Maura was overreacting, in the sweetest way ever. Though Jane honestly didn't understand why. She was okay with it herself. Her loss wasn't an issue.

"Of course, these weren't the Olympic Games. But still..." Maura shrugged and bit her lower lip. "You should have won it. Period."

"Why do you give so much importance to this? I'm glad you're showing a competitive spirit but... It's time to let go, Maura. I've lost an hour ago and look around you: life's going on just as sweetly as it should."

It was true. Of course, it was true. But something bothered Maura deep inside, something that she couldn't name. Her ego had been bruised by Jane's defeat and she felt sad for her partner as well.

"Since when do you show signs of wisdom, exactly?" It had been said without any sarcasm. Maura had simply been honest, and tried a bit light. "It should come from me."

But it didn't, for whatever reason.

"You don't see me as a loser, right?" Jane's voice began to shake. She didn't like advancing such idea but then she really didn't understand Maura's latent frustration. "I mean..."

This time Maura turned around to lock her eyes with her partner's. She was going too far, for absolutely no reason. And if it was because of her competitive spirit then she had to calm down immediately for it was very ridiculous.

As Jane had said it, the table tennis tournament had very little importance in the end.

"Of course not! Jane, I've known you for five years... Five years and a half... And I can assure you that you are anything but a loser. You're the brightest person I know, actually."

"Then where's the problem?"

Besides, Martin had turned out to be an excellent table tennis player. The match had been tight and if it weren't for the lack of clothes then Jane would have loved playing with him again. She hadn't been bad at all: she had done her best and someone had simply outplayed her.

It sucked but Jane accepted it.

"I don't know..." Maura took her sunglasses off and settled them on top of her head. She observed the sea in the distance and took her time before talking again. "I guess I was really eager to get the first prize. Even if I still don't know what it is."

Oh boy.

Jane rolled her eyes and laughed warmly. She leaned over then brushed Maura's shoulder of a comforting kiss. Maura could be very childish at times, but it was something Jane had always loved about her.

She found it utterly funny.


	38. Chapter 38

_**Author's note: thank you for all the reviews and messages, I really appreciate the fact you're all taking your time to write me a little something.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Eight**

"A trip to the Bahamas!"

Jane winced in mental pain and started shaking her head. She should have never listened to Maura. Thus, she would have not gone to check the table tennis tournament first prize. And nobody would have known that she had missed a chance to win a trip to the Bahamas.

To the Bahamas, for Christ's sake.

Maura landed I-told-you-so eyes on her partner and heavily sighed. She understood Jane's frustration though she could easily rectify it.

"I can take you to the Bahamas any time, you know." The confession embarrassed Maura a bit. She rarely talked about her financial situation with Jane and never really bragged about it either. Of course Jane knew that she had money but it wasn't a reason to be loud about it. It wasn't how Maura had been raised, besides; not at all. "I mean, you know, if this is a destination you fancy then I suppose we can try to..."

Gutted, Jane shook her head and grabbed another cookie. She was in full food compensation mode but couldn't care less right now. The situation had been reversed: a couple of hours earlier, she had been the one cheering up Maura after her loss but now it was the exact opposite.

She had missed a chance to win a free trip to the Bahamas. Her mother would kill her if she ever learned about it.

"It's Gloria Estefan's fault, anyway. I swear if I ever hear 'Conga' again..." Jane clenched her fists in anger and reduced to pieces the cookie she was holding. "This song is officially banned from my life, Maura. Banned! Anyway, it's an old one."

As much as Maura loved Jane, she didn't really believe her partner on this point. Jane couldn't have lost because of a song playing loudly in the background. It was too ridiculous; way too ridiculous.

"Do you really think it has more to do with Gloria Estefan's songs than with the policies of _Hidden Beach_?"

A smirk played on Maura's lips as she preferred to keep for herself the fact that the trip to the Bahamas included another nudist resort anyway. Something told her that Jane wouldn't have liked it much. She had already a very hard time dealing with her first experience in Mexico so would she eagerly sign up for another nudist resort?

Certainly not.

But since the rhetorical question bruised Jane's ego with more or less subtlety, Jane snorted instead of nodding and immediately opposed herself to Maura. She wouldn't let her partner win this battle. Never ever.

Even if it wasn't entirely impossible that Maura's argument might have been a potential reason to Jane's loss.

"As far as I know, Martin doesn't look like Brad Pitt soo I'm pretty sure I didn't get hypnotized by his awesome body..." Jane leaned against the French window of the villa and observed the lazy river outside. The sun was peacefully sliding on the water. "Nah, I'm fine with the whole nudity thing."

It was a blatant lie and Jane knew it. Five seconds before accepting to take part in the tournament, she was still debating the nudist part in her head. She wasn't being very honest with Maura right now but the situation was harmless.

They were simply bickering, after all.

No big deal.

"Oh, really? How interesting." A peaceful smile curled up Maura's lips as she crossed her arms against her chest and looked at Jane defiantly. "Then how come you're still wearing clothes if you feel oh so comfortable with nudism?"

Jane held back a growl. Maura's question was the exact reason why she regretted her semi-lie. Of course, Maura wouldn't have missed the opportunity to push her a bit further. It was entirely deserved, besides. Jane had exaggerated when she had said that she was fine with it.

Karma. It was, one more time, nothing but karma.

"Oh..." Jane forced a laugh but her sudden casualness fell flat. She was too nervous to sound relaxed. "I'm fine with the idea of people being naked. That doesn't mean I have to do it myself. It's different."

It was a poor excuse, a very unbalanced and fragile argument. But what could she say? Maura had taken her aback and she, Jane, hadn't had time to prepare their harmless verbal fight.

"Hmm."

Jane gasped and pointed an index finger to Maura. She widened her eyes, shocked, and shook her head in disbelief. This wasn't good at all.

"Don't 'hmm' me! I know that's what you say when you don't believe a word the person you're talking to is sayin'!"

That was true and Maura had no choice but to admit it. That being said, she had absolutely no issue to recognize that she didn't believe Jane's poor arguments right now. She had only drunk one cocktail so far, for lunch, so she was still enough sober to get when her partner was not being entirely honest.

"If you're really as comfortable as you say it then you wouldn't have any issue and you would do it too, Jane. But it's okay, you know." Maura shrugged, very matter-of-factly. "Everything can't be as cool as nudist people."

Maura slightly squinted her eyes as she wondered if she had gone too far. She knew that Jane didn't particularly like her body and that she had been raised in a religious environment which complicated even more the whole thing. Maura simply hoped that the gestures of attention she had had towards her partner these past few days were helping Jane one way or another. Little by little.

"Is this your way to tell me I'm uptight?!"

Jane's high-pitched voice amused Maura. Sometimes it was even too easy to provoke Jane a little bit. She, Maura, didn't have to look for a thousand ways to get to it. Their game of teasing was an old trick now. A very old trick.

"Fine." Jane hissed. If there was something that she didn't like then it was when people told her that she was uptight. She wasn't uptight at all. Nope. "Then..." She checked her watch: 4.55pm. "Look at that, Miss I-know-it-all."

Without thinking twice about it, Jane began to undress in front of Maura. Defiantly. Her heart was beating awfully loudly and her hands were shaking but she wanted to prove her that she had the guts to do it. Besides, they only had one day left at the resort: it was now or never to go out of her comfort zone if only for an hour.

Entirely naked, Jane turned on her heels and left the villa by the bridges that connected each apartment to the swimming-pool bar.

Maura blinked. Alright, she hadn't expected it to happen. Or at least not like that. Surprised but nonetheless proud of her partner, she went to pick up Jane's clothes from the floor. She folded them on the couch and grabbed her cell phone before going out to make sure that Jane wasn't hiding behind a palm tree somewhere.

Maura was about to leave the villa when she got an alert on her phone. She looked at the screen and frowned, not at the alert but at the time.

It was 6pm.

Her heart suddenly started beating very quickly. She swallowed hard. Hadn't Jane checked the time on her watch before getting undressed? People were supposed to be fully clothed by 5.45pm.

"Oh my god..." Maura rushed out of the villa. "Jane! Jane, come back!"

…

Maura dared a timid look at Jane for the thousandth time within the last minute but not a single word passed her lips. What could she say anyway? She knew that they would laugh about it at some point but not just yet.

Oh no, not just yet.

"I guess this group of vacationers from Germany got the rules now, right?" Jane tried to smile but ended up burying her face in her hands. "Oh boy..."

Somewhat reassured by the fact her partner had finally managed to speak, Maura approached a hand from Jane's shoulder and tried to quietly comfort her.

She, Maura, had found Jane by a packed swimming-pool bar where a group of freshly arrived vacationers were celebrating their vacations. Of course everyone wore clothes. Everyone but Jane.

"There's still the possibility for me to sue SWATCH. I mean, it's their fault if my watch stopped working, right?"

The question caused Maura to smile. She was surprised but nonetheless glad to see that Jane was trying to joke about the situation instead of locking herself up in tragic scenarios.

Besides, nobody had made fun of her. The German vacationers had simply stared at her with great perplexity before resuming their party as soon as Maura had grabbed Jane by the wrist to rush back to the villa.

"I'm proud of you." Maura sat on the bed next to Jane and planted a kiss on her partner's neck, her laugh vanishing against the olive skin. "I'm proud of you because you dared. Okay, it didn't turn out to be the greatest success either because of err... Logistic problems... But look at you: you dared to do it nonetheless. I'm so proud of you, Jane."

Jane remained quiet for long seconds. She needed to ponder Maura's words. She needed to make sure that her partner wasn't making fun of her. Though to be honest, Maura hadn't laughed at the situation yet. She had been very supportive until now and Jane greatly appreciated it.

Needless to say that if it had happened with one of her colleagues or her brothers, she would have heard about it until 2070.

"Yeah well..." Jane focused on the bedsheet. She didn't have the courage to properly look at Maura right now. "We're all more or less the same in the end, no?"

That was it.

Maura grinned. She couldn't be happier right now. She cupped Jane's face and loudly kissed the corner of her lips. Jane's insecurities weren't gone, it wasn't that simple, but she was on the right path and she would get to accept the way she was.

"Hmm... To be honest, you're the hottest one in the area."

The comment caused Jane to laugh. This wasn't very objective from Maura who insisted on saying that bodies were all equal, no matter what. Jane understood that her partner's sudden comparison was just her own way to tell her that she was the one though. Maybe that was the reason why it made her feel so warm.

"I proved that I could do it... At the wrong moment but I still proved it." Jane nodded, more or less convinced by her words. "Though don't take it badly if I never do it again. What has happened earlier was fate telling me that I am not made for nudism. Really."

They both burst out laughing.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.**_

 **Chapter Thirty-Nine**

Nothing had really changed. As much as Jane tried to spot the tiny difference that would highlight whatever was going on in her heart, she didn't see anything in particular through her reflection in the mirror.

She was a lot more tanned, of course, but outside of this detail then she was still the same person. Her eyes looked the same, her nose as well. Her chin, her lips: everything was identical to what it had always been.

Everything looked the same but her life.

"Jane? Are you ready?" Maura's voice pierced through the bathroom door that Jane had left open ajar. "We're going to be late for dinner."

Jane nodded as if Maura could see her but she remained desperately silent. She wasn't done, not just yet. She wanted to find on her face the sign that clearly showed that she was now a different person; because she was in a relationship with someone, with a woman. With Maura.

Everybody in Boston pretty much knew about it, now. It wasn't a secret anymore but Jane still felt a tad anxious at the prospect of facing everyone – from her colleagues to her relatives – and assume that she now was Maura's life partner. Was her reaction stupid? Did it highlight a deep sense of immaturity? She didn't want to put an end to all the things she and Maura were now living but she couldn't help feeling nervous.

They would be back to Boston on Saturday: the countdown had begun. And Jane didn't know how to handle it.

"Yeah..." She swallowed hard and forced a smile to give herself some more courage. "Just one second."

She closed her eyes as her blank voice hit the ai. She took a deep breath to calm down. Everything would be alright. Absolutely everything. She didn't have to freak out the way she now did.

Maura knocked on the door and poked her head inside. She looked so happy, so light compared to Jane.

"This isn't a gala held at the _Four Seasons_ , you know."

Jane laughed to reassure Maura. For once her partner was joking, Jane couldn't completely disregard it either. Besides, it was very sweet; and genuine. Jane nodded again and feigned to check her hair a very last time before walking out of the bathroom.

It wasn't the social event of the season but it was nonetheless a respectable evening at a five-star resort so Jane had made an effort and was wearing a dress she had bought a couple of hours earlier at the hotel boutique.

It hadn't crossed her mind when she had packed that she would need a dress. Their Thursday night plans had proved her wrong.

"You look stunning." Maura locked her eyes with Jane's dark ones and brightly smiled. She couldn't sound more sincere. "This dress really suits you."

Jane immediately looked down at the piece of clothing. She had to agree with Maura: the dress suited her quite well and the ivory shade of the linen emphasized her tanned olive skin.

"I can make an effort when I want to."

Maura approached her partner and planted a playful kiss on her cheek, just at the corner of her mouth. She winked.

"Oh I know that, believe me." Eager to not make it to the restaurant too late, Maura turned around and grabbed her purse. "Should we go, now?"

It had taken Maura her best arguments to get Jane to accept to go to the restaurant after the fiasco of Jane's nudism experience. As much as she had tried to laugh the whole thing away, Jane had honestly been slightly mortified and spending the evening with everyone was not how she planned on forgetting her moment of shame.

But one more time, Maura had managed to make her change their mind: it was one of their last dinners in Mexico, they couldn't stay locked inside, far away from everyone.

Maura was right. Jane would have regretted such decision because in spite of what she kept on saying, she would honestly miss everyone.

...

"I can't believe we won't be able to sit at the table of our choice. What is that? Another Rizzoli wedding?" Jane closed the door of the villa and started walking towards the main restaurant with Maura. "I just hope I won't have to sit next to one of the German guys..."

Maura chuckled. She was really glad to see that Jane hadn't gone too dramatic about her misadventure by the swimming-pool bar and that she was even able to laugh at it.

"I asked Rosa if we could be at Marion's table... Along with Tanita, Jamie, Jule... Everyone." On the terrace. This way, they would be able to admire the sunset. "There shouldn't be any freshly arrived German anywhere near you."

It wasn't that Jane wanted to be paranoid but she only half-trusted Maura here. Yet too eager to spend a pleasant and peaceful evening, she didn't say anything back and brightly smiled as they finally reached the restaurant.

The place was crowded and loud. A real band was playing on the other end of the room. Just as planned, Marion and her husband were waiting for them at their table on the terrace. Jane nodded at them as she reached her own seat.

It was a formal dinner that oddly reminded her of prom. She was more looking forward to their last night at the resort: a barbecue on the beach sounded better to her, less stressing.

"Good evening, everyone."

As Jane sat on her seat, she noticed the presence of Magic Juanito on her left. She swallowed hard. Was it another magic evening? Maura would have never done that to her, right? A growl passed Jane's lips as she leaned over and discreetly talked to her partner.

"Why on earth is Magic Juanito here?"

Her whisper through clenched teeth caused Maura to squint her eyes at the scene. An "oh" of surprise formed on her lips. She shrugged, not really knowing what to say. As far as she knew, it was just a classic dinner; with food and music.

"Maybe he was simply invited by the resort... As a guest, you know."

Alright: Maura couldn't lie but she didn't sound particularly convinced nonetheless. Jane made a face but preferred to not insist and decided to focus on the rest of the table instead.

At least she would have dinner with people she greatly appreciated.

"I can't believe our stay is coming to an end..." Jamie raised an eyebrow and heavily sighed. "These two weeks really flew by. Do you already have plans for your next vacations?"

As everyone began to give a couple of destinations to Jamie, Maura realized that she and Jane hadn't really talked about it. As a matter of fact, they hadn't even talked about their return to Boston while it would happen within thirty-five hours now. She had great organization skills and needed them in order to feel fine yet she and Jane had no plan whatsoever.

For absolutely nothing.

As her turn to speak arrived, Maura shrugged and cast a brief glance at Jane.

"Maybe Switzerland? I would like Jane to see the place where I spent most of my childhood... Besides, this is where my parents live now." At least she was being honest. She really wanted to show Jane her parents' house, the Alps. The lakes. "But we have very demanding jobs and taking two weeks off was already a challenge in itself so..."

So Switzerland wasn't about to happen; not just yet.

The sentiment of peace Maura felt as Jane's hand landed on hers turned out to be the most relieving feeling she had ever experienced. She had needed the gesture of comfort and Jane had instinctively felt it. It meant a lot to Maura, really a lot.

"But we'll do it." Jane felt the urge to add that she wanted to meet Maura's relatives but it would have been exaggerated. She was barely getting used to Arthur and Constance so she was definitely not ready for aunts, uncles and cousins. "I'm a bit of a workaholic but... I'll try to change that from now on."

The statement in disguise went straight to Maura's heart. It lovingly embraced it and forced her to swallow back some tears.

There was something delicate and graceful in their way to admit many things through half-words, in front of a whole crowd. Things that they considered as intimate ones, things that they were too shy to even be mentioned yet.

"So I'll take it as the ultimate proof you've enjoyed your stay at _Hidden Beach_." Marion winked at Jane. "What's your best memory of your vacations here?"

Good question yet Jane didn't even need to think about it. She knew that she only had to let her heart speak for her. Because it felt right, immensely right.

"The realization of something I'd probably known, subconsciously, for a while."

Her fingers slid along Maura's before she tightened her grip on her partner's hand with a lot of care; with a thousand quiet feelings.

Her whole life had made sense the day she had left behind her doubts and fears, the day she had captured Maura's lips in a kiss. She was in love and totally assumed it. Her anxiety about the near future didn't really worry her much because she knew that it was normal. Nothing could go wrong with Maura.

 _Hidden Beach_ had been a wakeup call of some sort; a warm, intense one.

"Still no wedding?"

Jane rolled her eyes at Tanita's question and, falsely offended, buried her face in her hands before shaking her head.

"Please tell me you've been hired by my mother. This would explain so, so many things... Starting with this whole wedding obsession."

Jane's remark made the whole table burst out laughing though Maura was the only one who knew for a fact that her partner was only half-kidding. Angela would certainly allude to a wedding very soon now even if she, Maura, didn't feel ready for it. Who would, anyway, after dating someone for a week? It was crazy.

"I promise that we will invite you all if we ever tie the knot... But don't book any weekend yet because this isn't about to happen."

The remark oddly relieved Jane. She was glad to see that Maura didn't want to rush into things because she didn't want to either. They didn't even live together, or at least not really. Of course she had always spent a lot of time at Maura's place but she wasn't really living there.

One thing at a time.

Yet in spite of all of this, Jane knew that Maura was the one. She could feel it within herself, deep down her heart. It was an evidence that didn't even need to be discussed. She had no doubt about their relationship. It looked nothing like her previous stories so far.

It simply looked right. Plainly right.

"I don't need to get married to know that I love Maura."

Jane's statement took Maura completely aback. If it made everyone smile, it stirred up within herself a whirl of powerful feelings. It was the first time Jane openly admitted her feelings in front of a third pary, without even being forced to do it. The moment was touching.

Symbolical.


	40. Chapter 40

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages; the story will be finished by Sunday.**_

 **Chapter Forty**

"You won't get up, hmm?"

Maura's lips curled up in a bright smile. Focused on the contemplation of the ceiling, she shook her head at Jane's question and laughed quietly. She didn't feel like getting up. As a matter of fact, she didn't feel like moving at all. The mattress was smooth under her body and the sun slid warmly on her bare legs. The moment was perfect, too perfect to break it.

"I have a crazy idea." Maura rolled on her stomach and looked at Jane who was lying next to her in bed. Her hair was messy, her cheeks slightly red from the intimate moment they had just shared. "What if I sell my house and we both quit our jobs to spend the rest of our life here: in this exact bedroom?" Of course it was a joke but Maura was in a playful mood. "Then it will always be perfect, just like the way it is now."

Her voice broke but she managed to hide it behind a fragile smile. It was stupid but it had just crossed her mind that she and Jane were enjoying their very last morning at _Hidden Beach_. On the very next day, they wouldn't have time to spend in bed; they wouldn't have time to make love again.

They would have to leave then catch a plane that would take them back to the cold weather of a Bostonian winter instead.

"It's tempting..." Jane let her fingers travel up and down her partner's shoulder. She wasn't particularly eager to get up either but she wanted to take advantage of the resort at the most. She wanted to go to the beach, to go for a swim in the Caribbean Sea. "And we wouldn't work anymore?"

Maura nodded enthusiastically.

"Who needs to work when you can have this view every single morning?" She vaguely motioned the landscape behind her before brushing with her lips Jane's stomach. "I have better plans for us than going back to the morgue and to the BPD."

Jane smiled. Her partner's plans so far seemed to include drawing an invisible path of kisses on her skin in a rather suggestive way which was rather pleasant.

The tip of Maura's tongue suddenly brushed Jane's side which sent a shiver down her spine. Amused, she bit her lower lip and observed her partner for a while.

"What are you doing?"

It wasn't a rhetorical question. Maura seemed to be focused on a few inches of skin, close to Jane's lower stomach. By her bikini bottom line. Except the abstract nature of her drawing had turned into something a lot more concrete. Jane could say because Maura didn't hesitate: she went for something that she could obviously visualize in her head.

"You should have a tattoo there." Maura rested her chin on top of Jane's inner thigh and looked up at her partner. She smiled, mischievously. "I would spend hours caressing it."

Jane swallowed hard. Sometimes she wished she had the same boldness as Maura, this carefree attitude when it came to express her desires and fantasies. As much as she wasn't too timid, she was nonetheless miles away from her partner's ability to assume all this.

"What?!" Jane leaned up on her elbows and looked down at Maura. "You want me to get inked? Jeez, have you lost your mind? Ma' would kill me if she learned I'd got a tattoo!"

The mention of Angela didn't particularly surprise Maura. Jane's reaction was a tad dramatic but all in all, she wasn't necessarily far from the truth. Angela Rizzoli didn't like tattoos. As a matter of fact, she even hated them.

She had almost passed out the day she had learned that Frankie had got one.

"It could be a temporary tattoo... You know, one that goes away after a little while." Maura pouted and drew an abstract form on Jane's skin. "Nothing permanent."

This technique didn't require any needle besides. Jane knew it because she had watched a documentary on the matter a few months earlier. She had even been tempted to get one, just for the fun of it.

"I don't know..." Jane ran her tongue over her lips to win some time. Maura had taken her aback. "What kind of tattoo would it be?"

It was the strangest verbal foreplay Jane had ever experienced. She was very well aware that Maura's fingers going up and down her thigh were anything but innocent. They would end up making love again, it was obvious and she wasn't the one who would complain. It simply wasn't a classic way to get there.

"I don't know." Maura ran a hand through her hair. It was just as messy as Jane's. "Maybe a Maya symbol? Like on my bracelets?"

Jane looked at the jewels on Maura's wrist, the way they had caught the rays of the sun and glimmered in the bright light of the morning.

A Maya symbol. Jane closed her eyes and rested her head back on her pillow as Maura's lips resumed their exploration on her inner thigh. The temporary tattoo idea was appealing. Unplanned but appealing.

"Only if you get one too."

Jane's remark made Maura laugh quietly. Her hot breath brushed her partner's inner thigh before embracing it warmly. She hummed a semblance of reply then stopped going in circles and focused on Jane's primary needs with a smile.

…

"I thought you'd never come."

Jane opened her mouth to reply to Martin but Maura's discreet chuckle stopped her right away. She cast a glance at her partner and tried to remain serious.

Really? Of course Martin's choice of words was a tad suggestive but he couldn't guess what they had spent most of the morning doing. Yet Maura kept on giggling like a school girl about it.

"We'll take it slow, today. Besides, my paddleboard class is at noon."

And hopefully Jane would manage to go in the water with it and not lose her balance this time. She had learned her lesson: steady movements, long and steady movements only.

"We were in the middle of... Logistic issues." Maura dropped the novel she had taken with her on her deckchair and smiled at Martin. She didn't see her remark as a lie. Sex was a logistic issue, to an extent. "But here we are now and, I don't know for you, Jane, but me... I'm starving!"

Without waiting for a reply from her partner or Martin, Maura walked to the beach bar and ordered a plate of tropical fruits with two smoothies. She would miss their breafkasts on the beach with the sound of waves in the distance and the Latino music playing in the background.

The smell of sunscreen.

She had checked the weather forecast while Jane was in the bathroom: it was heavily snowing in Boston. The return to Massachusetts would be very hard.

"I would love telling you that you have a bruise on your nape..." Jule joined Maura at the bar and winked at her. "But I'm afraid it's a hickey."

Maura immediately brought a hand to the back of her neck. She didn't remember Jane sucking particularly hard on this part of her body. Though the truth was that they had made love more than once since the evening before. Perhaps she didn't remember every single move of Jane's lips on her skin either.

"And I would love telling you that it's a mosquito bite but I have an excellent insect repellent."

Jule burst out laughing. She hadn't necessarily expected Maura to give her this kind of reply. She ordered a smoothie and grabbed a small piece of pineapple from her plate.

"The two of you look so in love... You remind me of a time I had almost forgotten. I love my husband, of course, but with the passing of time feelings so evident that we often forget to show them. We stop measuring our luck after a while."

Maura perfectly understood what Jule meant and she agreed with her. Would it happen to Jane and her at some point? Probably. It always happened, no matter what. And that was why she had to take the most of what she was given now.

"How long have you been married for?"

Jule waiting for the bartender to set Maura's order down on a tray to answer her. She waved at her husband who was waiting at a table with another couple.

"Thirty-four years... A whole life in a word!"

Maura nodded but didn't know what to say back. She had a lot of admiration for people who were married for so long and yet it frightened her a bit, for whatever reason. She really didn't picture herself following the same scheme. Spending the rest of her life with Jane made sense – it really made perfect sense – but she had a hard time understanding the point of a marriage.

It was a weird feeling that she couldn't really explain.

"How do you manage to make it last?" At least her question was fair and she was being honest. Her relationships had always failed. What if it happened with Jane? "I mean... It's a whole life as you said it yourself. How do you not succumb to... To the monotony of the days?"

"Oh we have a monotony. We surely have one! But it's a lovely one... It's a monotony that I like to have. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I guess when you've found the right person then all of this becomes... It all becomes sweet. It's only a burden when you're single or not in love."

Jane's laugh rose in Maura's back. She turned around to look at her partner who was in full chat with Martin. Maura barely noticed it but the moment she lay her eyes on Jane, her heart began to beat faster and a wave of warmth spread in her veins. It rushed to her lower stomach and made her feel lighter.

"I hope you're right..."

Jule scoffed and pretended to be offending by Maura's whispered remark. She shrugged then winked.

"Of course, I am!" Jule grabbed her plate and her smoothie. She smiled a very last time at Maura before turning on her heels. "Now go back to the one you won't dare to call your wife."

Maura rolled her eyes but didn't insist. What for? She knew that Jule was right, if only to an extent. Her aversion for marriages was ridiculous. It had no reason to be. Perhaps with the passing of time she would change her mind.

Perhaps.

But in the meantime, her priorities lay somewhere else. Maura set the tray down on the table that separated her deckchair from Jane's and settled on her seat before taking a sip of her smoothie. She looked at Jane's side, at these few inches of skin she had caressed and kissed earlier in the morning.

"Alright." She took a tattoo magazine out of her totebag and pushed away her novel with her feet as she lay down on her deckchair. "Now let's see what kind of Maya symbol we could get before we leave."


	41. Chapter 41

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages; I still don't know whether I will write a sequel to this story (but I will think about it).**_

 **Chapter Forty-One**

Jane couldn't stop staring at the tattoo she now had on her left inner thigh. After a couple of hours of intense discussions, she and Maura had decided to get the same one. "Companion spirit" fit in more ways than people would ever understand and the drawing was soft, delicate. They had headed to the best tattoo salon in town and were now back on the beach to enjoy their last afternoon in the Mexican sun of the Riviera Maya.

"Your mother won't see it. It's okay." Maura adjusted her Chanel sunglasses on top of her nose and furtively caressed Jane's leg. Hers was on her right thigh, as if it succumbed to a game of mirrors with her partner's one. "It's temporary, besides."

Jane nodded. She wouldn't tell it to Maura but she had actually enjoyed her time at the tattoo salon to the point she now almost regretted to not have got inked for real. She liked the symbol of her tattoo and it looked great on her skin. Perhaps one day she would dare and go for a permanent one.

Perhaps.

Maura would probably agree with it. As long as the place was clean and that the employees respected the rules of hygiene then she had absolutely nothing against tattoos. On the contrary. She had even suggested the idea in the first place.

"A cocktail for your thoughts."

The remark made Jane laugh lightly. She looked up at Maura and shrugged, not really knowing what to say. She was thinking about a thousand things and none at the same time. It was a bit strange; warm but unusual.

She grabbed her bottle of water and took a sip just to win some time, to make a sentence in her head before speaking out loud.

"I don't wanna go home."

Maura raised an eyebrow, surprised. It wasn't the kind of confession she had expected from Jane; not here, not on the beach among a crowd of nudist vacationers. But her partner's bittersweet tone of voice prevented her from making fun of the statement. She couldn't discard the ounce of seriousness that had risen within Jane's words.

It wouldn't have been fair.

"You would like to stay in Mexico?" Maura took her sunglasses off to lock her eyes with Jane's dark ones. "To stay here, at _Hidden Beach_?" She leaned over to lower voice, just to make sure that nobody would overhear what she was about to say. "At a nudist resort? Really?"

"Oh, gosh no!" Jane held back a sigh of frustration. This was what happened when she tried to be honest: she always lost herself in a labyrinth of more or less clear explanations. And nobody understood anything in the end. "I wanna go back to Boston but..." She ran her tongue over her lips and folded her leps up. She wrapped her arms around them before resting her chin on top of her knees. She then focused on the sea, straight in front of her. "Not to my apartment. I don't wanna go back there. I don't wanna go back to Back Bay."

Maura blinked. If she usually didn't like trusting her instinct then it was even worse under such circumstances. Her heart began to beat faster as she realized what Jane was trying to tell her through half-words.

She swallowed hard, trying desperately to not rush into things.

"So what you mean is... You want to live with me?"

The timidity that had wrapped Maura's question didn't have time to turn into a confident statement. Without any warning, three vacationers rushed to Jane and grabbed her in order to throw her in the water. The abrupt change of dynamic took Maura completely aback but she burst out laughing nonetheless as Jane landed in the water with a big splash.

The local celebrity of _Hidden Beach_ would leave the next morning. The resort would plunge back into a peaceful quietness but the staff would probably not forget Jane any time soon.

In the meantime, everyone wanted to have fun with her though. Maura ran to the Caribbean Sea and swam till her partner.

"You're gonna pay for it, guys!" Jane grabbed the hairband she wore on her wrist and tied up her hair in a bun of some sort. She shook her head at the group of vacationers and laughed. "You're dead!"

Not really though. The truth was that their timing had been perfect because she had gone too far in the confession of her desires. She shouldn't have said to Maura that she wanted the two of them to live together. It was a huge decision, not a little something that had to come out of the blue between two cocktails on the beach.

Jane's allusion had been inappropriate.

Thankfully Maura didn't feel the urge to insist. She happily swam instead, chatting with everyone; laughing away the last memories of her vacations on the Riviera Maya. Even when her eyes found Jane's dark ones, she didn't say anything. She simply smiled and winked.

…

"What are you doing here? It's your last day. You should be out enjoying it till it ends!" Angela shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Be a little wild, Maura. It's now or never, you know."

The advice caused Maura's lips to curl up in an embarrassed smile. A tattoo, temporary or permanent, was definitely Angela's definition of 'being wild' though a tad too much. Maura had never understood Jane's mother's reluctance to tattoos. It was a form of art, after all. Some tattoos were real masterpieces.

"We just wanted to let you know at what time our flight was supposed to land at Logan International..." Maura checked the flight tickets on the table next to Jane's tablet. "Besides it's 6pm, here. At this time, everybody goes back home for a shower. We have a barbecue on the beach tonight. It starts at 7.30pm."

The truth was that she had insisted on calling Angela on Skype. Jane would have been okay with a text message only but Maura found it more polite to share a proper conversation with Jane's mother.

It was also a coward way to escape the topic Jane had alluded to on the beach before Martin and his friends to throw her in the water.

Maura honestly didn't feel the urge to even weigh the pros and cons: living with Jane was an evidence to her. She was simply afraid that her partner wasn't really ready for it yet.

Of course they had shared a villa for the last two weeks but it was different. Everything was different in Mexico: they were on vacation, they were relaxed. Nobody had to go to the grocery store nor do the laundry. Nobody had to do anything but have fun.

Life in Boston would be different.

"Oh... Okay!" Angela seemed rather satisfied of Maura's explanation. "And where's Jane, by the way?"

Maura turned around. She had settled on the first-floor balcony to make sure to enjoy the sun until it started sliding away on the Caribbean Sea. The main floor of the villa was already in the shadows at this time of the day.

"She went for a shower... Jane?" Maura focused on Angela anew and politely smiled at her. "She must be in the bathroom, I'm sorry. Is everyone okay? How is Bass doing?"

Angela threw herself in a recap of the last few days which caused Maura to miss the sound of Jane's steps in her back. Fresh from the shower and wearing her usual jeans shorts, Jane approached the tablet and positioned herself next to Maura. She rested a hand on her partner's shoulder. The sudden touch made Maura jump.

"Gosh, Jane!" A hand on her heart, Maura frowned and laughed nervously. "Don't do that ever again..."

Jane slightly moved to make sure that she would be on cam and waved at her mother before leaning over a bit. She pushed her hair away from her face.

"Hey, ma'... What's up?" Jane squinted her eyes. Angela was in Maura's kitchen and a thick curtain of snow seemed to be falling out of the window. Jane swallowed hard: it was 92° in Mexico. "How's Boston?"

Angela was about to reply when she suddenly froze. The shift in her attitude was such that Maura thought at first that Skype had suffered from a glitch. What was going on? After long seconds of an incomprehensible silence, Angela started moving again.

Or so. She actually began to frown; her lips pursed angrily.

Maura cast a brief glance at Jane. Angela's attitude was anything but reassuring. Whatever was about to happen didn't particularly sound entertaining.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli!"

The sudden outburst took Jane aback. She literally made a step backwards and straightened up, confused. Why was her mother yelling at her? She hadn't said anything wrong, had she? Of course not. She had simply asked if everything was okay in Boston. That was a pretty safe question.

Wasn't it?

"Yeah...?" Anxious, Jane looked at Maura for support but she sadly only found in her partner's eyes the echo of her very own confusion. "What?"

"You got a tattoo!"

Jane and Maura immediately looked down at Jane's thigh. Bad timing, unless they wanted to confirm Angela's statement in the purest moment of silence ever. Jane moaned of despair. Half of the tattoo was showing because she was wearing shorts. It hadn't crossed her mind at all when she had chosen the piece of clothing.

Shit.

"Err..."

This kind of monosyllabic answer wouldn't satisfy Angela. On the contrary. It would probably go on her nerves even more.

Eager to help Jane one way or another, Maura cleared her voice and brightly smiled at Angela. She, Maura, had her part of responsibility in all this after all. She was the one who had told Jane that she would love her getting a tattoo.

She had to assume the consequences of her acts.

"It is actually a temporary tattoo, Angela." Not caring much about the degree of intimacy, Maura grabbed Jane by the waist and pulled up the shorts for Angela to see. "As you can see, this is a Maya symbol: it means 'companion spirit'. I have one too."

Maura bit her lips. Perhaps if she developped a bit further the explanation of the symbol then she would manage to soothe Angela's obvious anger.

"Anyway, I'm forty years-..."

Jane didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. Maura pushed her so strongly that she almost lost her balance and landed off cam.

"What Jane means is that at forty-years old, she still deeply appreciates the fact that you care for her body. You know how responsible I am, Angela. I would have never let your daughter approach one way or another a place that wouldn't respect the basics of hygiene and environment. The ink is pure and, as I have already said, it is temporary."

Diplomacy.

Jane quietly walked back to the cam and nodded without adding a word. She honestly wouldn't do any better than Maura right now.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two**

Her plate in her hand, Maura went to sit down on the sand to watch the sunset. The brouhaha of the barbecue was soft to her ears. It melted into the Latino music and the sound of the waves crashing. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for brief seconds. She would miss this place a lot more than what she would have imagined.

What had looked like a rather cheap destination at first had turned into one of the most important moments of her life. She hated the idea of clutching so much to a relationship but what she now had with Jane went beyond everything.

"Watch out with this sauce. It's very spicy." Jane sat down next to her partner and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You're okay? You look weird, like... Weird."

Maura nodded. She honestly felt fine, really fine. At peace. She set her plate down on the sand and rested her head on Jane's shoulder.

"I love you."

She was in love; with her best friend. As much as the days had passed by since she had come to such realization, Maura still had a hard time to think that it could be true. It was weird to be in Jane's arms, weird to wake up next to her in the morning. Weird but nice.

Jane's timid laugh disappeared somewhere in the distance. She hadn't expected Maura to be serious and tender. Not now. They weren't alone, after all. Thirty vacationers were partying all around them. It was anything but an intimate moment.

And yet...

"I love you too." Someone burst out laughing. Jane turned her head to check what was going on before focusing back on the moment of peace she was having with Maura. "Would it be okay for you if I didn't go back to my place any time soon? I mean, we could try..."

Maura sat up and locked her eyes with Jane's. She was quite surprised to see that her partner dared to mention this again for it was a very delicate topic to handle. It obviously meant a lot for Jane.

"Are you sure that this what you want?"

Jane nodded. She understood the reason why Maura remained careful, why she didn't let her joy literally explode at the prospect of them living together. Wisdom and experience told her to remain calm, to ponder the pros and cons.

"We could take it as a test. I keep my apartment in case I want to spend a day or two there but... You know..." Jane shrugged. The words were there, at the edge of her lips. She only had to let them come. "I'm not sure I can fall asleep again if you're not next to me."

Was she being mushy? Probably. Such thought made her blush. She didn't like it when she subconsciously showed a vulnerable part of her personality.

Yet in all honesty, she hadn't lied. She had spent the best nights of her life in Maura's arms. She had finally managed to have proper dreams, peaceful ones. Her insomnia hadn't showed up and she felt restful now.

"Let's do it then." Maura nodded, convinced. "Let's do it."

Joy embraced Jane's lips as a smile of relief lit up her features. She had a hard time recognizing herself right now. For years she had lived a life made of doubts, of insecurities. She had spent days and months trying to understand why her romantic life was not the sweet promise she had dreamed of once. But there she was, now. And everything made sense. At last.

With Maura.

…

 _Five years later_

Maura took her sunglasses off and checked her surroundings with a smile of satisfaction on her lips: nothing had changed. The little buildings were freshly painted anew but the place was still exactly the same.

And it felt like coming back home after many years spent abroad.

"Maura?" Marion crossed the small bridge that separated her villa from Maura's and opened her arms for a hug. "Or should I say, Mrs. Rizzoli-Isles? Congratulations!"

Maura smiled. If nothing had changed in _Hidden Beach_ then some things in her life were not exactly the same anymore. Like the wedding band she now wore on her left hand.

"Oh my god, Marion... It's good to see you!" Maura gladly hugged the woman who, through the years, had become a very good friend and nodded at her. "And yes, it's Mrs. Rizzoli-Isles now."

"I knew that you'd end up changing your mind." Marion winked. "Because Jane was the right one. Where is she? Tanita and Jamie should be here this afternoon."

They all had kept in touch after Jane and Maura's stay in Mexico but hadn't had a chance to see each other again until now. Life had kept them busy. Maura was ecstatic to be back to _Hidden Beach_.

"She's at the reception desk making sure that Magic Juanito has retired." Maura looked at Marion from head to toe. She shook her head in disbelief. "You haven't changed at all."

Marion rolled her eyes. She didn't believe Maura at all but the compliment was still a nice one.

"I thought you couldn't lie?" Marion smirked. She was delighted to be back to _Hidden Beach_ with all the friends she had made there five years earlier. "How is your daughter? She looked so cute on the last pics you sent us."

A surge of pride caused Maura to smile at the mention of her daughter. Her and Jane's daughter, to be more exact. She repressed herself from showing Marion a dozen of pictures she had taken at the airport just before leaving for Mexico. It was a classic parent trick that she couldn't stand when it came to others so she desperately tried to avoid it herself.

"Ixchel is doing fine, thank you. She's at home with Jane's mother... We will celebrate her third birthday next month. She wanted to come with us."

If the Riviera Maya was still the same, Maura could barely believe how different her life now was compared to what it used to be.

Everything had gone fine. The moment she and Jane had come back to Boston, their existences had kept on making sense and they hadn't had a hard time at all to keep alive the harmony they had found in Mexico. Their days had simply followed an implicit logic.

What they had assimilated to a test at first had soon turned into an evidence and it hadn't taken Jane very long to sell her apartment. They were made for each other. It was just as simple as that.

Besides, they hadn't had to hide in Massachusetts. Everyone already knew for them and Maura was convinced that it had greatly helped them to build the strong relationship they now had.

As for Ixchel, it had probably been the best project of their life.

"She's still too young for the Riviera Maya but Jane and I want to take her to Mexico for her fifth birthday. It's important that she knows where she comes from too. We don't want to hide that from her. We want her to see it as a strength, a richness."

They had chosen adoption because it seemed to suit them better. The desire of having children had appeared quite soon in their relationship but neither of them felt like going through the roller-coaster of IVFs; especially at their age. Jane had had the idea of the Mexican orphanage and Maura had immediately liked it as Mexico meant a lot to them.

After a year and a half of administration deal and multiple travels to Mexico, they had come back home with a baby girl named Ixchel. The name was pure coincidence but Jane had seen it as a sign; a beautiful one.

Life had taken them in the sweetest whirl ever. This was how Maura saw it in the end. From parenthood to an unexpected wedding, theIR days were full of a beautiful frenzy.

"And still no brother or sister for Ixchel?"

Marion's question caused someone to gasp in their back. She and Maura turned around and burst out laughing as Jane walked towards them. She dropped her bag on the floor and went to hug her ex-classmate.

"What on Earth are you doing, Marion? Five minutes here and you're already plotting with my wife?" Jane laughed. "We have one Mexican tornado at home and it's enough for the moment."

Maura nodded to confirm Jane's statement. It was quite true: Ixchel had a lot of energy for a three-year-old little girl. Bass barely started getting used to the addition in the family.

However and against all expectations, the African-spurred tortoise had really bonded with Jane the day she had officially moved in. The two of them could spend hours together and he always finished his plate when Jane was around. Maura would have lied if she hadn't said that she took it badly. What was it that Bass was so moody when she stayed with him? It never happened with Jane.

"Ixchel has cousins she can play with... It's... Well, you know... A good alternative for the moment!"

Jane walked back inside the villa to grab a bottle of Tequila and three glasses. Back to basics. She couldn't stay in Mexico and not drink Tequila at some point. She poured three glasses and held out two, one for Maura and one for Marion. She raised hers and smiled brightly.

"To _Hidden Beach_... To... The 5.45pm curfew!"

The three women burst out laughing and emptied their glasses right away. Marion locked her eyes with Jane's and smiled playfully.

"Speaking of which... Do you still stick to your sarong strategy?"

Ah. Jane cast a glance at Maura. They had spent the last two months discussing this part of their stay in Mexico. If Maura was quite eager to do it, Jane was still reluctant to take everything off. She would start with her bikini top, and then they would see.

They hadn't gone to any other nudist resort after their first stay on the Riviera Maya.

As a matter of fact, coming back to Mexico was their first vacations in five years. They had gone for three-day getaways in the USA and the comings and goings between Boston and Mexico for Ixchel's adoption was not what one would consider as vacations either. But now they could finally have a rest and enjoy it.

"Well... We'll see. Though I'll make sure to check the time on my phone before doing anything here."

Someone called Marion's name a bit further down the resort. The woman excused herself and left Jane and Maura alone after making sure that they would have dinner together on the same day.

Maura watched how their friend walked away. Five years had passed by but she had the feeling that they all had said goodbye to each other the day before only. This was what home felt like. She loved it.

"Come here..." Maura's whisper died against Jane's neck as she grabbed her wife and settled in her arms. She took a deep breath then closed her eyes as a peaceful smile embraced her delicate features. "Happy anniversary."

Their wedding had been rather formal. It had taken place at the courthouse, just to make the adoption process easier and faster. The day was important to them but the truth was that if they had had to choose one day that would define their relationships then Jane and Maura would have immediately gone for the day when they had shared their first kiss.

At _Hidden Beach_ ; five years ago.

Jane's lips brushed her wife's head with a light kiss. She observed the trees, the lazy river swimming-pool and focused on the sound of the waves that she could hear from the terrace of the villa. This was it: they were back to the beginning.

"Happy anniversary..."

The End

 _ **Author's note: Thank you very much/muchas gracias for all the reviews and messages you have sent me during this long story. I'm really glad you have liked it. I don't think I will write a sequel (therefore this little five-year-later thingie in the last chapter) because it's been a long story and I guess I'd like to start a brand new one now. But... Who knows? I could come back on these five years, or even their first months as a couple in Boston at some point. I don't discard it entirely. The next story will be light and the next one a tad angsty. I hope you will enjoy them. Thanks again!**_


End file.
